Much of southwest Barranquilla sits on clays that change volume with moisture: they swell in the rainy season and shrink in the dry season. A building on a shallow foundation rises and falls with them.
The typical symptoms are diagonal cracks in the walls near the corners, doors that no longer close and floors that heave. The damage is often blamed on the structure when the cause is in the soil.
How to build the foundation
The solution depends on the depth of the active layer reported by the geotechnical study. The most common options are taking the foundation below that layer with piles or caissons, separating the slab from the ground, or replacing the soil and controlling its moisture under the building.
What does not work is ignoring the geotechnical study. In these areas, the foundation is decided with the geotechnical engineer from the start of the design.
Frequently asked questions
What are expansive clays?
Soils that swell with moisture and shrink as they dry, moving shallow foundations as they do.
How do you build a foundation on them?
According to the geotechnical study: taking the foundation below the active layer with piles or caissons, separating the slab from the ground, or replacing the soil and controlling its moisture.
