| dc.description.abstract | Foundations of engineering constructions are systems that act like interface elements to transmit
the loads from superstructure to, and into, the underlying soil or rock over a wider area at
reduced pressure. Broadly foundations are classified as shallow foundation and deep foundation.
A proper design of foundation system requires the following; purpose of engineering structures,
probable service life loadings, types of framing, soil profile, construction methods, construction
costs, and client/owner’s needs; design without affecting environment and enough margin of
safety with respect to unforeseen events and uncertainty in determination of engineering
properties of soil and acceptable tolerable risk level to all the parties, i.e., public at large, the
owner, and the engineer.
According to Kamuntu (2020), Uganda today is facing building collapses which in part is
attributed to defects in foundations in building construction that are supposed to provide
structural stability and durability. Collapsing of buildings has other adverse effects such as loss
of life of workers and wastage of resources for the building proprietor. Building defects in
shallow foundations has increased largely due to poor regulation of the construction industry.
Little effort has been put towards identifying these defects and quantifying the extent to which
they affect building collapse, hence the need for this study.
This research was sought to assess the common defects in shallow building foundations in
Uganda. The study involved an in-depth research on done literatures about the concept of the
various building foundations, the causes of these building foundations and the effect of the soil
characteristics on the building defects.
Both secondary and primary data was used. Secondary data was obtained by reviewing previous
publications and the primary data was collected directly from the target population. Observation
and laboratory tests and experiments were used. The laboratory experiments were to determine
the different soil characteristics of the collected soil samples and observation was used to see the
common foundation defects.
The most common foundation defects include settlement, cracks and rising damp. These defects
are as a result of the high-water content in the soil and also the area under study is in a low-lying
area. The extent of settlement, cracks and rising damp in Kawempe division was 70%, 5%, and
25% respectively | en_US |
