Continuous Wall Footing Calculator, ACI 318-19

What it checks

The module designs a continuous strip footing supporting a bearing wall. It evaluates the design using both service (ASD) and strength (LRFD) methods. The sequence of checks begins with verifying the soil bearing pressure against the allowable limit, followed by calculating the required transverse flexural steel for the concrete section.

Inputs

Geometry - Footing width (ft), footing thickness (in), and supported wall thickness (in).
Loads - Service load per linear foot (klf), factored load per linear foot (klf), or wall load by basic load case (klf) to derive combinations.
Combinations - Project load combinations (optional) and vertical seismic effect toggle (SDS).
Soil - Allowable soil bearing pressure, net (ksf).
Materials - Concrete compressive strength f'c (psi) and steel yield strength fy (psi).
Reinforcement - Clear cover (in).

What it reports

Service Bearing Pressure - The calculated pressure (ksf) compared against the allowable soil bearing pressure.
Factored Bearing Pressure - The calculated factored pressure (ksf) derived from the factored load.
Effective Depth - The effective depth d (in) calculated from footing thickness, cover, and assumed bar size.
Cantilever Length - The cantilever distance (ft) from the wall face to the footing edge.
Required Steel - The required transverse steel area per linear foot of wall (in²/ft).
Load Warnings - A flag indicating if the supplied pre-factored load pair appears inconsistent.
Combination Labels - The specific ASD and strength combinations used to derive the service and factored loads.

Code references

The engine cites ACI 318-19 §22.5 and §9.6.1.2, as well as ASCE 7-22 §2.4 for bearing.

Limits

The module assumes a #8 bar for effective depth calculations. If project load combinations are absent, it falls back to ASCE 7-22 sets. The vertical seismic effect is only active if an SDS value is provided. Results are engineering aids; the engineer of record is responsible for the design.

This module ships in the desktop app

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