Strip, pad or raft. A short guide to how soil conditions and building loads decide the foundation your project needs.
Foundation choice is decided by two things: what the ground can carry, and what the building puts into it. Everything else follows from a soil investigation.
Strip foundations
Suitable for load bearing walls on firm soil at shallow depth. Economical and quick, but unforgiving if the soil varies across the plot.
Pad foundations
Used under columns in framed buildings. They concentrate load at points, which suits most of the framed residential and commercial work we do in Kigali.
Raft foundations
A single slab spreading load over the whole footprint, used where bearing capacity is low or settlement is a risk. More concrete, but often cheaper than deep alternatives.
Never skip the soil test
A test costs a fraction of one percent of the project and removes the largest single risk in the structure. We insist on one before issuing a structural design.
Questions about your own project?
Message us on WhatsApp or request a quote, and a member of the team will reply within one working day.
