How to get it right: Building a wall on foundations

This is a common problem, most often caused by poor survey work or collapse of trench sides - resulting in the actual shape of the foundations not matching the required dimensions of the external walls.

Does building a wall on a foundation really matter?

Well, yes it does because the loads of the finished building are transferred down the external walls and into the foundation, when they should be distributed evenly into the supporting ground.

Uneven loading can result in settlement and damage on the structure, which can be extremely costly to put right.

How to get the wall in the right position

You can design offset foundations where the masonry sits on one side of the foundation - usually on a tight boundary, but the foundation usually has steelwork and minimum thicknesses of concrete to compensate for the offset.

In this situation, the masonry had to be rebuilt. Fortunately it wasn’t too advanced, but it still suffered unnecessary costs and time that could have been avoided by careful setting out.

Further information

Found this interesting? Try our Ground works and foundations course

Please Note: Every care was taken to ensure the information was correct at the time of publication. Any written guidance provided does not replace the user’s professional judgement. It is the responsibility of the dutyholder or person carrying out the work to ensure compliance with relevant building regulations or applicable technical standards.