This guide is intended to simplify the design and construction of frost protected shallow foundations (FPSFs) and promote their widespread use. The underlying data was obtained from National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) members who provided demonstration sites for evaluation of the performance of FPSFs. Richard Morris, of the NAHB, initiated and facilitated the technology transfer into the United States and its acceptance into U.S. model building codes. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has provided continuing support in the effort to advance the use of FPSFs.
We acknowledge the American Society of Civil Engineers’ (ASCE) for permission to publish values that are contained in Tables 4 and A1 in SEI/ASCE 32-01, Design and Construction of Frost-Protected Shallow Foundations, 2001, authored and published by the ASCE.
This guide represents the efforts of numerous contributors over a period of more than ten years. NAHB Research Center staff members, Jay Jones, P.E., Marie Del Bianco, G. Robert Fuller, P.E. and Edith Crane amended and edited this version.