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Prior Chicago Building Code
BUILDING CODE AND RELATED EXCERPTS OF THE MUNICIPAL CODE OF CHICAGO
DIVISION 1 - ADMINISTRATION
DIVISION 2 - DEFINITIONS
DIVISION 3 - USE AND OCCUPANCY CLASSIFICATIONS
DIVISION 4 - SPECIAL DETAILED REQUIREMENTS BASED ON USE AND OCCUPANCY
DIVISION 5 - GENERAL BUILDING HEIGHTS AND AREAS
DIVISION 6 - TYPES OF CONSTRUCTION
DIVISION 7 - FIRE-RESISTANCE-RATED CONSTRUCTION
DIVISION 8 - INTERIOR FINISHES (NA)
DIVISION 9 - FIRE PROTECTION SYSTEMS
DIVISION 10 - MEANS OF EGRESS
DIVISION 11 - ACCESSIBILITY
DIVISION 12 - INTERIOR ENVIRONMENT
DIVISION 13 - ENERGY EFFICIENCY AND ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
DIVISION 14 - EXTERIOR WALLS (NA)
DIVISION 15 - ROOF ASSEMBLIES AND ROOFTOP STRUCTURES (NA)
DIVISION 16 - STRUCTURAL DESIGN
DIVISION 17 - STRUCTURAL TESTS AND SPECIAL INSPECTIONS
DIVISION 18 - SOILS AND FOUNDATIONS
CHAPTER 13-132 FOUNDATIONS
13-132-010 General requirements.
13-132-020 Bearing values of soils, borings and tests.
13-132-030 Classification of subsurface materials.
13-132-040 Soil investigation.
13-132-050 Borings.
13-132-060 Soil bearing values.
13-132-070 Field loading tests.
13-132-080 Footings - Requirements.
13-132-090 Footings - Proportion.
13-132-100 Footings - Depth requirements.
13-132-110 Footings - Construction.
13-132-120 Pile foundations - General requirements.
13-132-130 Allowable loads on piles.
13-132-140 Pile loads determined by driving formula.
13-132-150 Pile loads determined by load tests.
13-132-160 Load tests on piles.
13-132-170 Allowable pile loads - Special considerations.
13-132-180 Timber piles - Requirements.
13-132-190 Timber piles - Construction requirements.
13-132-200 Cut-off of untreated piles.
13-132-210 Treated piles.
13-132-220 Precast concrete piles - Compliance.
13-132-230 Precast concrete piles - Construction.
13-132-240 Precast concrete piles - Handling and driving.
13-132-250 Cast-in-place concrete piles - Compliance.
13-132-260 Cast-in-place concrete piles - Construction.
13-132-270 Cast-in-place concrete piles - Allowable stresses.
13-132-280 Concrete-filled steel pipe piles.
13-132-290 Concrete-filled steel pipe piles - Construction.
13-132-300 Concrete-filled steel pipe piles - Allowable stresses.
13-132-310 Concrete-filled steel pipe piles - Durability.
13-132-320 Rolled structural steel piles.
13-132-330 Rolled structural steel piles - Construction.
13-132-340 Rolled structural steel piles - Splices.
13-132-350 Rolled structural steel piles - Allowable stresses.
13-132-360 Rolled structural steel piles - Durability.
13-132-370 Special type piles.
13-132-380 Foundation caissons.
13-132-390 Foundation caissons - Allowable loads and stresses.
13-132-400 Foundation caissons - Concrete stresses.
13-132-410 Foundation caissons - Steel casings.
13-132-420 Foundation caissons - Inspection and testing.
13-132-430 Foundation caissons - Tolerance.
13-132-440 Foundation caissons - Construction methods.
13-132-450 Foundation caissons - Safety requirements.
13-132-460 Special type caissons.
DIVISION 19 - CONCRETE
DIVISION 20 - ALUMINUM (NA)
DIVISION 21 - MASONRY
DIVISION 22 - STEEL
DIVISION 23 - WOOD
DIVISION 24 - GLASS AND GLAZING (NA)
DIVISION 25 - GYPSUM BOARD AND PLASTER (NA)
DIVISION 26 - PLASTIC (NA)
DIVISION 27 - ELECTRICAL
DIVISION 28 - MECHANICAL SYSTEMS
DIVISION 29 - PLUMBING SYSTEMS
DIVISION 30 - ELEVATORS AND CONVEYING SYSTEMS
DIVISION 31 - SPECIAL CONSTRUCTION (NA)
DIVISION 32 - ENCROACHMENTS INTO THE PUBLIC RIGHT-OF-WAY
DIVISION 33 - SAFEGUARDS DURING CONSTRUCTION
DIVISION 34 - EXISTING STRUCTURES
DIVISION 35 - REFERENCED STANDARDS

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DIVISION 18 – SOILS AND FOUNDATIONS
CHAPTER 13-132
FOUNDATIONS
13-132-010   General requirements.
13-132-020   Bearing values of soils, borings and tests.
13-132-030   Classification of subsurface materials.
13-132-040   Soil investigation.
13-132-050   Borings.
13-132-060   Soil bearing values.
13-132-070   Field loading tests.
13-132-080   Footings – Requirements.
13-132-090   Footings – Proportion.
13-132-100   Footings – Depth requirements.
13-132-110   Footings – Construction.
13-132-120   Pile foundations – General requirements.
13-132-130   Allowable loads on piles.
13-132-140   Pile loads determined by driving formula.
13-132-150   Pile loads determined by load tests.
13-132-160   Load tests on piles.
13-132-170   Allowable pile loads – Special considerations.
13-132-180   Timber piles – Requirements.
13-132-190   Timber piles – Construction requirements.
13-132-200   Cut-off of untreated piles.
13-132-210   Treated piles.
13-132-220   Precast concrete piles – Compliance.
13-132-230   Precast concrete piles – Construction.
13-132-240   Precast concrete piles – Handling and driving.
13-132-250   Cast-in-place concrete piles – Compliance.
13-132-260   Cast-in-place concrete piles – Construction.
13-132-270   Cast-in-place concrete piles – Allowable stresses.
13-132-280   Concrete-filled steel pipe piles.
13-132-290   Concrete-filled steel pipe piles – Construction.
13-132-300   Concrete-filled steel pipe piles – Allowable stresses.
13-132-310   Concrete-filled steel pipe piles – Durability.
13-132-320   Rolled structural steel piles.
13-132-330   Rolled structural steel piles – Construction.
13-132-340   Rolled structural steel piles – Splices.
13-132-350   Rolled structural steel piles – Allowable stresses.
13-132-360   Rolled structural steel piles – Durability.
13-132-370   Special type piles.
13-132-380   Foundation caissons.
13-132-390   Foundation caissons – Allowable loads and stresses.
13-132-400   Foundation caissons – Concrete stresses.
13-132-410   Foundation caissons – Steel casings.
13-132-420   Foundation caissons – Inspection and testing.
13-132-430   Foundation caissons – Tolerance.
13-132-440   Foundation caissons – Construction methods.
13-132-450   Foundation caissons – Safety requirements.
13-132-460   Special type caissons.
13-132-010  General requirements.
   (a)   Every building or structure shall be supported on footings, piles, foundation columns, piers or caissons complying with the requirements of this section.
   (b)   The encroachment of foundations on public property shall be governed by the provisions of Section 13-132-030.
(Prior code § 70-1)
13-132-020  Bearing values of soils, borings and tests.
   Bearing values of soils, borings, and tests shall be governed by the provisions of Sections 13-132-030 to 13-132-070, inclusive.
(Prior code § 70-2)
13-132-030  Classification of subsurface materials.
   Insofar as practicable, the following terms shall be used in the description and classification of sub-surface materials:
   (a)   Solid Rock. Sound, unweathered limestone without visible voids, known to have a thickness of at least eight feet;
   (b)   Soft Rock. Weathered or porous limestone, rock containing fissures, shale or other rock material not included under (a);
   (c)   Boulders. Rounded to angular rock fragments having a least dimension not less than eight inches;
   (d)   Gravel. Cohesionless aggregate of rounded to angular rock fragments ranging in size from one-quarter inch to eight inches;
   (e)   Sand. Cohesionless aggregate of rock fragments or grains ranging in size from 0.06 mm. to one-quarter inch. Deposits of sand shall be described as loose or compact;
   (f)   Inorganic Silt. Cohesionless aggregate of grains ranging in size from 0.002 mm. to 0.66 mm. Aggregate is non-plastic and consists of grains not distinguishable by the naked eye. Deposits of inorganic silt shall be described as loose or compact. A lump of the air-dried material has very little resistance to crushing;
   (g)   Clay. Cohesive soil, plastic within wide range of water content. The consistency of a clay shall be defined by the strength of a fairly undisturbed cylinder whose length is from 1.5 to 2 times its diameter, as follows:
 
Consistency
Unconfined Compressive Strength – Tons per Square Foot
Very soft
less than 0.35
Soft
0.35 to 0.59
Stiff
0.60 to 0.99
Tough
1.0 to 1.9
Very tough
2.0 to 3.9
Hard
4.0 to 7.9
 
   (h)   Hardpan. Cohesive or cemented material that offers great resistance to hand excavating tools.
   (i)   Organic Soil. Soil containing significant percentage of partly or wholly decomposed organic matter. According to the character of the constituents, the terms organic clay, organic silt or peat shall be used.
(Prior code § 70-2.1)
13-132-040  Soil investigation.
   All applications for building permits for (1) the construction of a permanent structure, or (2) for the alteration of a permanent structure involving an increase in load on the foundations, or (3) for the underpinning of a structure, shall be accompanied by a statement from the architect or structural engineer as to the character of the soil, satisfactory to the building commissioner. Where there is reasonable doubt as to the character or bearing capacity of the soil, the building commissioner may require such borings, test pits or test loads as may be necessary to determine the actual conditions.
(Prior code § 70-2.2; Amend Coun. J. 9-13-89, p. 4604; Amend Coun. J. 3-5-03, p. 104990, § 30; Amend Coun. J. 11-13-07, p. 14999, Art. II, § 1)
13-132-050  Borings.
   (a)   Whenever borings are required to determine the subsurface conditions, they shall be made in accordance with the requirements of this section.
   (b)   All borings shall be made by a procedure that provides information capable of serving as a basis for the classification of the subsurface materials as specified in Section 13-132-030. In particular, data shall be obtained to ascertain the consistency of clays.
   (c)   The boring report shall contain a record of all strata encountered, including their color, texture and resistance to penetration or other measure of relative density or consistency. If intact samples are removed and tested, the results of the tests shall be added to the report. All materials encountered shall be classified in accordance with Section 13-132-030.
   (d)   The boring report shall contain the elevation of the ground surface with respect to city datum, the elevation of the water table and any other significant data concerning groundwater conditions. A plat showing the location of the borings with reference to a permanent coordinate system shall accompany the report.
   (e)   The boring report shall indicate the type of drilling and sampling tools used, the size and depth of casing, the method of determining the relative density or consistency, and the reason for discontinuing boring operations. The date of beginning and of completion of each boring shall be recorded.
(Prior code § 70-2.3)
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