The building must be well connected to the foundation and the earth. While selecting a proper site or evaluating the suitability of a given site, Selection and Investigation of the Construction Site shall be followed.
The footing should be provided at a depth below the zone of deep freezing in cold regions and below the level of shrinkage cracks in clayey soils but not less than 800 mm for one storey building and not less than 900mm for two storey building. The minimum dimensions for footing in soft soil shall be as per Figure in Buildings Size limitations. For other soil types, the footing dimension shall be taken as per given table.
Base width of Footings
| Masonry Type | No. of Storey | Minimum base width (mm) of wall footing for soil type | ||
| Soft | Medium | Hard | ||
| Brick | Two | 900 | 650 | 550 |
| One | 650 | 550 | 450 | |
| Stone | Two | * | 800 | 600 |
| One | 800 | 600 | 600 | |
*Two-storied buildings with load-bearing stone masonry of random rubble or half-dressed stone are not recommended in soft soil.
Source: Nepal National Building Code, NBC 202:2015, Government of Nepal
https://www.moud.gov.np/storage/listies/July2019/NBC_202_2015_Guidline_on_Load_Bearing_Masonry.pdf