Question

An existing building is suffering from cracks in the exterior walls. The investigating engineer wants to ensure that the foundations are not overloaded. The existing columns carry dead live load of 45,000 pounds. The footings are 3 ft 6 in. x 3 ft 6 in. x 1 ft 6 in. thick and rest on sandy soil. The soils report estimates the allowable soil bearing pressure to be 2500 psf. What would be the smallest area for a safe footings are adequate to carry the load?

Answer 1

`18 ft^(2)`

Step-by-step explanation:

Soil bearing pressure=
`\frac {Load}{Area}`

Since we're given pressure of 2500 psf and load of 45000 pounds

The area=
`\frac {45000}{2500}=18`

Therefore, the smallest area of safe footings should not be less than
`18 ft^(2)`