The monolithic slab design trend is a design style characterized by a single, uninterrupted, unbroken surface. The slab can be made of concrete, glass, or metal.
The term was first coined in the late 1950s. The monolithic slab design trend is popular because it provides an elegant and clean look with the potential to offer more space for living and working.
Monolithic slab design trends are often seen in commercial building construction, particularly when the design requires little to no structural stability. Monolithic constructions are increasingly being used as partitions and walls within the context of modern architecture.
What are Monolithic Slabs?
Monolithic slabs are a type of concrete building that is designed to be built in one single pour and then craned together.
The Monolithic Slab can be considered the opposite of a modular house. Modular houses, like their name suggests, are often pieced together with individual parts that have been prefabricated off-site and assembled on-site. In contrast, Monolithic Slabs are poured from concrete on-site as a single unit.
In the construction of a concrete slab, the monolithic slab needs the components of Structure like foundation, slabs, piers, columns, and grade beams are used in the construction of the monolithic slab.
History of Monolithic Slab Construction and Design
The term “monolithic slab” is a general term for a concrete slab that has been cast in one piece. Monolithic Slab Construction is one of the most common types of construction in the world. It has been used since the early 20th century and continues to be used today.
The term monolithic slab was first used in the 1940s by architect and engineer Peebles W. Dinsmore, Jr., who described it as “a single, monolithic slab for each exterior wall”. These types of constructions were popularized by the father of modern architecture, Ludwig Mies Van Der Rohe.
Monolithic Slab foundation
The Monolithic Foundation is made by pouring a single layer of concrete to form a slab and foot. The contractors prefer the Monolithic Footing Foundation because it keeps the cost of labor low, and the process of construction is faster than other foundations.
The base of a monolithic slab is 12-18 inches thick at the footing and 4 to 6 inches thick. Proper site preparation and concrete reinforcement using rebar and wire are required to build a monolithic foundation.
The Construction of a Monolithic Footing Foundation is quick and easy: Once a circular ditch has been incorporated and the gravel spreads all over, at that time concrete pouring can begin.
This type of foundation dries more rapidly than any other type of foundation
Solid foundation: This foundation is strong as long as the anchor bolts and bolts are correctly installed.
Low Storage: The Monolithic foundation needs to be investigated only at regular times to ensure no cracks in the foundation.
Less energy is used because there is no gap between the house and the soil. Air does not move below the ground floor.
In those parts of the world where the soil is not cold, and the temperature is not so high, and it should not be like the desert. If you have no basement or crawlspace, you can install a monolithic slab to increase or improve energy efficiency.
The most common elements of a Monolithic slab foundation design are the floor itself and can be distance beams or the foundation walls with feet on the slab’s edges.
In a few cases, additional feet (usually a thick slab) are needed under the columns or walls in the center of the slab. The Molded concrete floors are often designed to be strong enough to support ground loads without reinforcement when poured into uninterrupted or compacted soil.
Good use of low-grade concrete/cement and hot rolled steel fabric scale can reduce shrinkage cracking, which is very important in appearance and can also help with radon penetration control techniques.
The walls of the foundation of Monolithic Slab are often made of stone or concrete for the construction of concrete construction. The walls of the foundation should withstand the vertical loads from the top of the structure and pass these angles to the footing.
Spreading foundations of the concrete must provide support under the pillars and the walls. Same, the distance beams at the corner of the foundation support the top structure above.
Footings design must have a good size convenient to distribute the top load on the ground. The coldest water under the footing may rise, causing cracks and other problems in the structure.
Read Also: What are the different types of industrial floors?
Advantages Of Monolithic Slab Construction
- Monolithic slabs allow speedy Construction work.
- BY using this technology you can reduce the cost, and time of the project.
- It gives resistance against the disaster.
- Monolithic structures are powerful against horizontal forces (cyclones, earthquakes, etc.), and other natural disasters as compared to traditional structures.
- It has no need for any high price construction equipment if you are using the aluminum framework in the construction.
- In this type of technology, No use of any type of bricks, plastering, and blocks
- We get a very good finished structure that avoids the expansive plastering costs.
- WE have more plinth areas and carpet areas because the Thickness of the walls is smaller.
- The quality and durability of Monolithic construction are very high as compared to other construction works.
- The construction of the monolith structure is lightweight and speedy.
- A local type system requires regular maintenance of a pier and beam while you do not need to take special care for a monolithic pour foundation. A mono slab foundation can save you money for a long time.
Disadvantages Of Monolithic Slab Construction
- The very first disadvantage of this type of construction needs skilled and Semi-skilled laborers.
- It needs the few days of training for the workers.
- Maintenance and repair of this type of construction are very complicated.
- More thermal radiation.
- This Monolithic construction, first time needs heavy investment.
- It requires a particular type of Formwork like Tunnel Formwork.
- When this type of foundation has cracks for any reason, its repairing cost is very high.
- These foundations are not very effective in flood-prone areas.
How to Build a Monolithic Slab
Here are some key points to take care of when building a monolithic slab
Preparation of Soil
It is very important to remove the soil in a very good manner. It is important to do a good response with water flow, and proper redirection must be prepared not to overwhelm the lab.
The soil must be well compacted and leveled. Giving proper slope to the ground is a very important factor. It’s Important to calculate, the water flow and then the proper management must be done.
Trench Height
In this type of concrete slab, it is very important to keep the thickness of the slab must be 12 inches where the load-bearing walls are incorporated. The thickness of this type of slab is approximately 4 inches.
Placing of Reinforcement
This type of slab use 16 mm, 12 mm, and 8 mm diameter bars for the wall reinforcement. With respect to the load, the bars are used. A cover block is provided to maintain the distance from the bar.
Formwork
The formwork of monolithic slab construction must be easily removable and reusable. This formwork is called true formwork.
A skilled carpenter did the shuttering work of formwork. The formwork should be very strong.
Concrete
A grade of M- 25 must use in a monolithic pour foundation and the coarse aggregate must use as 20 mm in it. The cover block is from 25 mm thickness to 50 mm thickness.
Deshuttering
The Monolithic slabs of walls and the wall slabs are opened from the wall formwork after 12 hours. The slab Central support is kept after 36 hours of slab concrete. After 72 hours all types of supports are been removed.
Curing
It must be cured for seven days. . It plays a very important role in achieving strength. In the final stage, the Concrete must meet the required amount of moisture.
This construction technique is especially used in the construction of monolithic foundations for high-rise buildings and skyscrapers. This type of construction resists very high loads without destruction in the elevated seismic zone. It gives safety to the whole building.
The use of aluminum formwork in this type of construction system improves the quality of residential and commercial buildings. It’s a disaster-resistant and cost-effective construction in modern times. Its methodology is fast and reduces large project costs.
Conclusion:
A new monolithic slab is a design that is more efficient and sustainable than traditional homes. They can be built in a fraction of the time and use fewer materials. They are also more affordable to construct and will cost less over the long term.
