Filling Between Foundation Footings

In order to reduce the thickness of a raft foundation without risking the integrity of the entire structure, column/wall footings are required above the raft foundation surface. A footing distributes the load on top of the column/wall evenly on the raft foundation, which also avoids puncturing the column/wall into the raft foundation. Overall, this is an effective and economical method of creating foundations.

However, a footing creates a serious handicap; the space between the footings needs to be filled and paved to create an even surface so that it can be added to the useful area of the building (in a car park, for example). These areas are traditionally filled with a gravel-sand mix and compacted every 20-30 cm. The compacted area has to be covered with a plastic sheet to prevent concrete leakages, and 20 cm of concrete with double mesh steel reinforcement has to be poured and paved. Additionally, the plumbing installation normally has to be passed through the compacted material before the concrete application. The greatest disadvantage of this application comes from the sheer volume of the filling material; it has to be carried to the job site and carefully compacted while the entire job site waits for this application to be finished.

Now, with by using ABS Disposable Formworks, the operational savings can be 50 trucks of traditional filling material per 1 truck of disposable formworks. Moreover, the application can be done anytime during the construction process. The “foundation filling” item thus gets removed from the consecutive construction plan, which shortens the total duration of the entire project. An added advantage is that the void space can be used for any sort of MEP installation passage and/or as a measure to prevent flooding. Finally, because structures constructed using ABS Disposable Formworks have a great load-bearing capacity, they will never crack.