2006 International Building Code

SECTION 1610 SOIL LATERAL LOADS

1610.1 General. Basement, foundation and retaining walls shall be designed to resist lateral soil loads. Soil loads specified in Table 1610.1 shall be used as the minimum design lateral soil loads unless specified otherwise in a soil investigation report approved by the building official. Basement walls and other walls in which horizontal movement is restricted at the top shall be designed for at-rest pressure. Retaining walls free to move and rotate at the top are permitted to be designed for active pressure. Design lateral pressure from surcharge loads shall be added to the lateral earth pressure load. Design lateral pressure shall be increased if soils with expansion potential are present at the site.

Exception: Basement walls extending not more than 8 feet (2438 mm) below grade and supporting flexible floor systems shall be permitted to be designed for active pressure.

All Rights Reserved. This 2006 International Building Code® is a copyrighted work owned by the International Code Council, Inc. Without advance written permission from the copyright owner, no part of this book may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including, without limitation, electronic, optical or mechanical means (by way of example and not limitation, photocopying, or recording by or in an information storage retrieval system). For information on permission to copy material exceeding fair use, please contact: Publications, 4051West Flossmoor Road, Country Club Hills, IL 60478-5795. Phone 1-888-ICC-SAFE (422-7233). Trademarks: “International Code Council,” the “International Code Council” logo and the “International Building Code” are trademarks of the International Code Council, Inc.