pemb no slab

huangyhg

pemb no slab
new pre-engineered metal building with no slab, 100' clear span.  the contractor wants tie beams, not large footings.  i'm thinking that dead-men along the tie beams will put the thrust back into the ground.  any other ideas????
when the earth moves, wouldn't the embedded deadmen go along with the movement in a random manner?  
fwiw:
one idea, if your running grade beams between columns under the perimeter of the building (perpedicular to the main span direction), make the grade beams strong enough and stiff enough to act with the footing to resist column thrust.  if your in an area where you have to go deep for frost anyway, its a way to pick up quite a bit of passive soil resistance without a whole lot more work or materials.
just an idea.     
tie beams parallel to the frames, (connecting the columns), are a good idea for taking the horizontal thrust.  place pvc sleeves through the beams for plumbing and other buried utilities.
you dont even need tie beams. consider running two bars running perpindicular to the frames in pvc tubes.  anchor bars to column pier.  tension with turnbuckle.  grout pvc solid to protect bars.  
this procedure is outlined in several pemb design books.  check it out.
there are inward forces and outward forces, tie beams across the building seem more appropriate.  i was considering that the building might try and move laterally with wind, with the tie beam soil friction and footing overturning/sliding keeping the building in place.  if  the above is not adequate, then possibly cutting a 'deadman' along the tie beam to resist additional load.  am i missing something?