pile cap depth
 

pile cap depth
does pile caps have to be below frost depth?
so if i have grade beams, then its minimum thickness
would be 4feet? lets say i designed a grade beam to be
500mm thick, do i have to make it 1.2m?
frost depth would control the level of the bottom of your grade beam, but not the depth.
adding to hokie66, you can always construct a concrete stem wall above a grade beam, and the wood framing over that.
mike mccann
mccann engineering
imho: i would check with your contractor (if known). depending on the situation, and location of the project, many would prefer to cast the grade beam/pile caps the full thickness (in your case 1.2m) rather than cast a 500mm thick grade beam and come back and build a 700mm tall stem wall on top. it takes a lot of extra concrete but save forming labor.
a heated building with external vertical perimeter insulation does not have to have pile cap base below frost depth.