Michael Skoller, P.E. of National Structural Engineering and co-chair of subcommittee no. FPA-SC-01 presented his subcommittee's paper entitled "Foundation Design Options for Residential and Other Low-Rise Buildings on Expansive Soils."

Mr. Skoller is a past FPA president and current FPA treasurer. He is the interim chair of the FPA Geotechnical Committee and has earned a BSCE degree from Carnegie-Mellon University in 1976. As a member of the FPA Structural Committee and together with fellow Structural Committee member George Wozny, P.E., Mr. Skoller co-chaired the paper that he presented to an audience of about 65.

The presented paper comprehensively compares many aspects of locally common foundation designs, giving pros and cons for each, while attempting to standardize their names. The paper also compares common foundation components such as deep footings, reinforcing types, vapor retarders, void systems, and grade-beam-to-pier connections. In addition, various site design options are compared, including moisture control systems, vegetation control systems and tree selection.

The paper is 42 pages long and full of detailed tables populated with pros and cons for the various foundation systems and components. Because of the size of the document, the presentation did not cover the actual pros and cons, only the table headings.

A total of thirteen (13) Stuctural Committee members sat on the ad hoc subcommittee that was in session 4.5 years to produce this paper. Revision Y of the paper was presented to the audience. This paper has been peer-reviewed by the FPA and, after incorporating comments by the audience, it was published on the FPA website as Revision 0. To download a copy of the final paper click here