Editing Foundation (engineering) (section)

==Historic types==
[[File:Lotyšské etnografické muzeum v přírodě (91).jpg|thumb|The simplest foundation, a padstone. [[The Ethnographic Open-Air Museum of Latvia]]]]

===Earthfast or post in ground construction===
Buildings and structures have a long history of being built with wood in contact with the ground.<ref>Crabtree, Pam J.. Medieval archaeology: an encyclopedia. New York: Garland Pub., 2001. 113.</ref><ref>Edwards, Jay Dearborn, and Nicolas Verton. A Creole lexicon architecture, landscape, people. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 2004. 92.</ref> [[Post in ground]] construction may technically have no foundation. [[Timber pilings]] were used on soft or wet ground even below stone or masonry walls.<ref>Nicholson, Peter. Practical Masonry, Bricklaying and Plastering, Both Plain and Ornamental. Thomas Kelly: London. 1838. 30–31.</ref> In marine construction and bridge building a crisscross of timbers or steel beams in concrete is called grillage.<ref>Beohar, Rakesh Ranjan. Basic Civil Engineering. 2005. 90. {{ISBN|8170087937}}</ref>

===Padstones===
Perhaps the simplest foundation is the padstone, a single stone which both spreads the weight on the ground and raises the timber off the ground.<ref>Darvill, Timothy. The concise Oxford dictionary of archaeology. 6th ed. [i.e. 2nd ed. Oxford, U.K.: Oxford University Press, 2008. Padstone. {{ISBN|0199534047}}</ref> [[Staddle stones]] are a specific type of padstone.

===Stone foundations===
[[Dry stone]] and stones laid in [[Mortar (masonry)|mortar]] to build foundations are common in many parts of the world. Dry laid stone foundations may have been painted with mortar after construction. Sometimes the top, visible course of stone is hewn, quarried stones.<ref>Garvin, James L.. ''A building history of northern New England''. Hanover: University Press of New England, 2001. 10. Print.</ref> Besides using mortar, stones can also be put in a [[gabion]].<ref>Stones in gabion for foundation, done in Diez Casas Para Diez Familias (10x10)'s Casa Rosenda; see Design Like You Give a Damn 2 book by Kate Stohr</ref> One disadvantage is that if using regular steel [[rebar]]s, the gabion would last much less long than when using mortar (due to rusting). Using [[weathering steel]] rebars could reduce this disadvantage somewhat.

===Rubble-trench foundations===
{{main|Rubble trench foundation}}
Rubble trench foundations are a shallow trench filled with rubble or stones. These foundations extend below the [[frost line]] and may have a drain pipe which helps groundwater drain away. They are suitable for soils with a capacity of more than 10 tonnes/m<sup>2</sup> (2,000 pounds per square foot).