Modeling
About Archicad's design tools, element connections, modeling concepts, etc.

creating footings for columns

Anonymous
Not applicable
What is the best way to create footings for a column.
With the limited knowledge in archicad ,i think it can be done in 2 ways.
1) is to use concrete walls for the footings, and using a slab for the base on the footing.
2)use complex profile in wall tools .
29 REPLIES 29
Karl Ottenstein
Moderator
You build it as it would be built, but your description sounds unusual for a column footing - so perhaps there is something unique about your column or your soils. Can you post an image of what you want to achieve?

Typically, for an isolated column bearing onto strong soils, the column tool itself is the most useful tool for footings, IMHO, if the footing is simply a slab. This is because, unlike the slab tool, the column tool has a center hotspot, as well as anchor points which allow you to keep the footing positioned exactly as desired relative to the column above and any surrounding elements.

Cheers,
Karl

PS Do not double post - I've removed your duplicate.
One of the forum moderators
AC 27 USA and earlier   •   macOS Ventura 13.6.6, MacBook Pro M2 Max 12CPU/30GPU cores, 32GB
Anonymous
Not applicable
IN fig shown are step footing and trapezodial footings


For a trapezodial footing,If i use column tool for the base and wall tool\double slanted complexity for the top portion ,these are considered as 2 different bodies.

sorry for double posting
Anonymous
Not applicable
step footing
step footing.jpg
Anonymous
Not applicable
correction-the trapezodial footing is slanted on all 4 side as shown in new fig.
Fran_ois Chatelain
Contributor
Hi there,
answering your question with my usual answer: mesh tool 😉
Using the mesh tool with sharp edges will yield the desired result. Input the requested base thickness, then the desired height for the column base and that's it.
It will also be treated as a single "object" for volumes calculations.
Cheers
Francois
François Chatelain
Worldwide Digital Imaging
Formerly posting as RanXerox
"A little bump will help blur your reflections"
Anonymous
Not applicable
François wrote:
Hi there,
answering your question with my usual answer: mesh tool 😉
Using the mesh tool with sharp edges will yield the desired result. Input the requested base thickness, then the desired height for the column base and that's it.
It will also be treated as a single "object" for volumes calculations.
Cheers
Francois
I'm yet to learn @ mesh tool, so please elaborate.
how to use mesh tool with sharp edges?
In mesh tools settings\model there are 3 options all sharp edges.2)users defined sharp 3)all ridges smooth.is it one of these ?.
Anonymous
Not applicable
use complex profile
Fran_ois Chatelain
Contributor
Hi,
trace the outline of your footing with the mesh tool, select the newly created mesh and trace the area where the column sits (still with the mesh tool), then select the option "add new points" when prompted, ok. Finally click on one corner of that area, select the Z option in the pop-up menu, type in the desired height, apply to all, ok, that's it.
Hope this helps.
Cheers
Francois
François Chatelain
Worldwide Digital Imaging
Formerly posting as RanXerox
"A little bump will help blur your reflections"
Karl Ottenstein
Moderator
Beautiful illustration of the process, François! 🙂

Karl
One of the forum moderators
AC 27 USA and earlier   •   macOS Ventura 13.6.6, MacBook Pro M2 Max 12CPU/30GPU cores, 32GB