The primary design concerns are settlement and bearing capacity. When considering settlement, total settlement and differential settlement is normally considered. Differential settlement is when one part of a foundation settles more than another part. This can cause problems to the structure the foundation is supporting. It is necessary that a foundation is not loaded beyond its bearing capacity or the foundation will “fail”.

Other design considerations include scour and frost heave. Scour is when flowing water removes supporting soil from around a foundation (like a pier supporting a bridge over a river). Frost heave occurs when water in the ground freezes to form ice lenses.

Changes in soil moisture can cause expansive clay to swell and shrink. This swelling can vary across the footing due to seasonal changes or the effects of vegetation removing moisture. The variation in swell can cause the soil to distort, cracking the structure over it. This is particular problem for house footings in semi-arid climates such as South Australia, South Western US, Turkey, Israel, Iran and South Africa where wet winters are followed by hot dry summers. Raft slabs with inherent stiffness have been developed in Australia with capabilities to resist this movement.

Slab-on-Ground Foundations
Slab-on-ground foundations are a structural engineering practice whereby the concrete slab that is to serve as the foundation for the structure is formed from a mold set into the ground. The concrete is then poured into the mold, leaving no space between the ground and the structure. This type of construction is often seen in warmer climates, where the ground freezing and thawing is less of a concern and where there is no need for heat ducting underneath the floor.

The advantages of the slab technique are that it is relatively cheap and sturdy, and is considerably less vulnerable to termite infestation because there are no hollow spaces or wood channels leading from the ground to the structure (assuming wood siding, etc is not carried all the way to the ground on the outer walls).