Foundation (engineering)
A foundation is the lowest part of a building. A building needs a strong foundation if it is to stand for a long time. A heavier building or softer soil needs a deeper foundation.
To make a foundation, engineers dig a trench in the ground. They dig until they reach solid ground. When the trench is deep enough, it is filled it with strong, hard material. Sometimes concrete is used. Concrete can be made stronger by putting long thin round pieces of steel into the trench. When the concrete dries, the steel ties the foundation together. We call this reinforced concrete. Once the foundation has been packed down tightly, or dried hard, construction can start.
Foundation (engineering) Media
Shallow foundations of a house versus the deep foundations of a skyscraper.
Foundation with pipe fixtures coming through the sleeves
Pouring a concrete foundation
The simplest foundation, a padstone. The Ethnographic Open-Air Museum of Latvia
Shallow foundation construction example
Inadequate foundations in muddy soils below sea level caused these houses in the Netherlands to subside.
Drawing of Poteaux-en-Terre post in ground type of wall construction (this example technically called pallisade construction) in the Beauvais House in Ste Genevieve, Missouri
PSM V24 D321 A primitive stilt house in Switzerland on wood pilings.
A granary on staddle stones, a type of padstone
Black Eagle Dam – cross-section of construction plans for 1892 structure
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Other websites
Media related to Foundations at Wikimedia Commons