A concrete beam at ground level that ties together piles or piers and supports the walls above.
A horizontal concrete beam at or near ground level that connects foundation elements such as piles or piers and supports walls or columns above. Grade beams distribute loads among the foundation elements and provide a continuous perimeter tie at grade. They are common in deep foundation systems and in areas with expansive or frost-susceptible soils.
Grade beams tie deep-foundation elements together and carry wall and column loads, so missing or mis-sized grade beams in a takeoff understates concrete, rebar, formwork, and excavation quantities for a structural bid. Because they sit at the interface of earthwork and concrete scope, grade beams are a common source of scope gaps between site and concrete subs.
On a pile-supported warehouse, the concrete estimator takes off 480 linear feet of grade beam, then confirms with the GC whether the sitework sub or the concrete sub is excavating and backfilling the beam trenches.
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