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A foundation is a structure that transmits loads from a building or road to the underlying ground. A footing is a slab element that acts as the foundation, transferring loads from the superstructure to the ground. Building is either the act of creating an object assembled from more than one element, or the object itself; see also construction. ...
A road is a strip of land, smoothed or otherwise prepared to allow easier travel, connecting two or more destinations. ...
Most foundations extend underground, and the foundations of large buildings often penetrate to the bedrock. One common type of foundation consists of walls that extend below the frost line and transfer the weight to wider footings. Other kinds of foundations include slab foundations, pier and beam foundations and piles. The Leaning Tower of Pisa (Italian: Torre di Pisa) is the campanile, or bell tower, of the Italian city of Pisas cathedral. ...
Bedrock is the native consolidated rock underlying the Earths surface. ...
The frost line is the level down to which the soil will normally freeze each winter in a given area. ...
A pile is one type of building foundation. ...
The primary dangers to a foundation are movement and uneven support. Change in ground water table is a common cause of foundation failure. Also flowing water can remove supporting soil from underneath a bridge foundation and freezing water can heave the supporting soil in one direction and then in the other direction when it thaws. Groundwater is any water found below the land surface. ...
For the heavy metal band see Soil (band) Soil is a general term for the material that lies on the surface of the earth, supporting the growth of plants and serving as a habitat for animal life from microrganisms to small animals. ...
The Golden Gate Bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a gorge, valley, road, railroad track, river, body of water, or any other physical obstacle. ...
Changes in soil moisture can cause 'reactive' clay soil to swell and shrink. This swelling can vary across the footing due to seasonal changes or the effects of vegetation removing moisture. The variation in swell can cause a footing sitting on the reactive foundation soil to distort, cracking the structure over it. This is a particular problem for house footings in semi-arid climates such as South Australia, Southern USA, Israel, and South Africa where wet winters are followed by hot dry summers. Raft slabs with inherent stiffness have been developed in Australia with capabilities to resist this movement Motto: United for the Common Wealth Nickname: Festival State Other Australian states and territories Capital Adelaide Government Governor Premier Const. ...
When heavy structures are built in arctic areas where the ground is permanently frozen, special refrigeration units must be used to keep the pressure of the structure from melting the supporting soil. This article is about frozen ground. ...
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