Survey of foundation for retrofitting

Causes of Foundation damage leading to Retrofitting

In one of my previous articles, we discussed various steps in which the survey of the foundation has to be done in order to be considered for retrofitting.

In this article, we will discuss various reasons or causes for the damage of the foundations.

Types of foundation damage can be classified as follows:

Erosion

1. Natural rock
2. Brick

Rot

Insects

Moisture damage

1. Frost wedging
2. Salt bloom

Settlement in the ground

1. Groundwater lowering
2. Limited bearing capacity of the ground (land)
3. Uneven depth of the bedrock (varying bearing capacities of the soil in the same patch of land)
4. Excavations performed below the foundations and poor quality of backfill
5. Increased load on the ground leading to failure
6. Damage to the neighbouring houses
7. Increased load
8. Horizontal movement occurring in the ground

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