Construction of raft for new three-bay garage

We were hired to construct this raft foundation for a new three-bay residential garage in Smallfield, Surrey. High quality foundation and groundwork are a vital part of any construction project and the key to the success and durability of the building.

Every site is different and, in this case, a raft foundation was specified and designed by a structural engineer. Raft foundations are often used in one or two storey domestic constructions and are needed where ground conditions are poor, such as soft or loose soils with low bearing capacity.

A raft foundation is a reinforced concrete slab under the whole of the building, ‘floating’ on the ground, rather like a raft floats on water. This spreads the load of the building over a larger area than other foundations.

We reinforced this raft with two layers of steel mesh and also sited the ducts for services, such as electric and water.