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December 8, 2016 <br />Project No. T-7388-1 <br />For designing foundations to resist lateral loads, a base friction coefficient of 0.35 can be used. Passive earth <br />pressures acting on the sides of the footings can also be considered. We recommend calculating this lateral <br />resistance using an equivalent fluid weight of 300 pounds per cubic foot (pcf). We recommend not including the <br />' upper 12 inches of soil in this computation because it can be affected by weather or disturbed by future grading <br />activity. This value assumes the foundations will be backfilled with structural fill, as described in Section 5.2 of <br />this report. The values recommended include a safety factor of 1.5. <br />5Stab-on-Grade Floors <br />1 Slabs on grade may be supported on subgrade prepared as recommended in Section 5.2 of this report. Long-term <br />floor slab settlement as discussed in the Foundation Section should be expected due to secondary creep <br />compression of the soft organic silt layer. <br />Immediately below the floor slabs, we recommend placing a four -inch thick capillary break layer of clean, free - <br />draining, coarse sand or fine gravel that has less than three percent passing the No. 200 sieve. This material will <br />reduce the potential for upward capillary movement of water through the underlying soil and subsequent wetting <br />of the floor slabs. <br />' The capillary break layer will not prevent moisture intrusion through the slab caused by water vapor <br />transmission. Where moisture by vapor transmission is undesirable, such as covered floor areas, a common <br />practice is to place a durable plastic membrane on the capillary break layer and then cover the membrane with a <br />' layer of clean sand or fine gravel to protect it from damage during construction, and aid in uniform curing of the <br />concrete slab. It should be noted that if the sand or gravel layer overlying the membrane is saturated prior to <br />pouring the slab, it will be ineffective in assisting in uniform curing of the slab, and can actually serve as a water <br />supply for moisture transmission through the slab and affecting floor coverings. Therefore, in our opinion, <br />covering the membrane with a layer of sand or gravel should be avoided if floor slab construction occurs during <br />the wet winter months and the layer cannot be effectively drained. We recommend floor designers and <br />' contractors refer to the 2003 American Concrete Institute (ACI) Manual of Concrete Practice, Part 2, 302.1R-96, <br />for further information regarding vapor barrier installation below slab -on -grade floors. <br />5.6 Lateral Earth Pressures <br />The magnitude of earth pressure development on retaining walls constructed in loading dock areas will partly <br />depend on the quality of wall backfill. Where fill is placed behind retaining walls, we recommend placing and <br />compacting it as structural fill. The fill should be compacted to a minimum of 95 percent of its maximum dry <br />unit weight as determined by ASTM Test Designation D-698 (Standard Proctor). To guard against the build-up <br />of hydrostatic pressure, wall drainage must also be installed as discussed in the Drainage Section. <br />With granular backfill placed and compacted as recommended and drainage properly installed, we recommend <br />designing restrained (not free to deflect) retaining walls for an at -rest earth pressure equivalent to a fluid <br />weighing 50 pcf. A value of 35 pcf may be used for the case where the wall is unrestrained. These values do not <br />included other surcharge loading such as from fill backslopes or adjacent footings that may act on the wall. If <br />such conditions will exist, then the imposed loading must be included in wall design. Values of friction at the <br />base of wall foundations and passive earth pressure that are used in design to resists lateral loads are provided in <br />the Foundations Section. <br />Page No. 8 <br />