Foundations

The purpose of a foundation is to support the dead weight of a building as well as the internal live loads such as the occupants and furniture.

Modern day foundations are designed around the load bearing capacities of a specific ground substrate type. The modern standard dimension of a concrete strip foundation is typically around 600mm in width and 1000mm in depth.

Historically buildings were built directly onto the surface of the ground, in the 18th century shallow stone slabs were used as a foundation. In the 19th century a thin layer of fire or furnace clinker was common, as well as the inclusion of underground corbelled brickwork. By the 1900 new houses were required to have concrete foundations.