Tower Base Foundations

Concrete piers generally make the best tower base foundations. Safe foundations must be proportioned so the area of the base is greater than the sum of the tower column load and the weight of the foundation itself divided by the allowable soil bearing pressure. Normal soil can support about 4,000 pounds per square foot. However, soft soils cannot support that much and good engineering practice necessitates a large safety margin, because soil conditions can change over time (due to moisture, for example). Professional engineers generally make the base area of a tower foundation two to four times greater than the calculated minimum requirement. ©2004 Tigertek, Inc. All rights reserved.

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