Types of house foundations

June 6, 2024 Roberto Magalhães

The types of house foundations are a little different than the foundations of other structures. Furthermore, houses are small buildings that have a small axial support load.

By reading this article in its entirety, you will learn more about the types of home foundations.

Compared to the other types of foundations, small building foundations are not that complicated and are types of foundations that have been built since ancient times.

Let's look at the main types of house foundations.

Types of house foundations

Basement foundation
Crawlspace retaining walls
Wooden foundation
Column and beam foundations
Stone foundations
Concrete pillar foundations with bored piles

Let's discuss each type of foundation in detail.

Basement foundation

Basements are built when there are differences in level between the driveway and the property or when additional space is required.

They are house foundations that are compared to a normal structure called Shallow foundations like isolated foundations that under Spreading . The cost of building foundations can increase for the following reasons.

When building basement foundations, side walls are usually made of concrete walls if the basement level is lower than the existing floor level.
The cost of constructing concrete walls is higher than that of normal masonry walls.
When constructing the basement, it must be sealed and protected.
Compaction of landfills, etc. it also increases construction costs.

Although basements add additional space to the home, they are types of foundations that increase construction costs. Additionally, there are possibilities of occurrence Cracks in basement walls .

Crawlspace retaining walls

Log wall foundations are common types of house foundations that can be seen in countries like the United States. They are Types of foundations System that connects the building foundation and the superstructure.

There are different types of trunk walls.

Masonry of retaining walls
Wooden Stem Walls
Concrete retaining wall

Some of the uses of trunk wall are as follows.

Retaining walls add to the structure. They reduce structural damage caused by natural disasters. Especially if we build the structure with wood, these types of house foundations are more useful.
Improves the aesthetic appearance of structures
Very useful in flooded areas

Wooden foundations

Most old buildings, which required raising the ground floor, were built on wooden foundations. Wooden beams embedded in the hard layers of the earth were used to construct buildings.

Attention should be paid to the type of wood used in construction, as there is a high chance that it will deteriorate quickly due to environmental conditions. Therefore, these types of house foundations must be used with great care.

Properly treated wood can be used in construction, which can support the weight of the structure and maintain the durability of the structure. Structures built on wooden foundations are also made of wood. Therefore, the weight of the structure is also very low.

In areas where wood is readily available, construction of wood structures is more common. Furthermore, with proper care, wooden structures can last up to 20 years without major problems.

Column and beam foundations

These types of house foundations are built to replace shallow foundations. Pillar foundations are a type of deep foundation.

However, beam foundations are shallow foundations. To support the weight of the structure, a foundation column and beam combination can be used. These types of foundations are not common in homes.

The article, Pillar Foundation can be read for different types of pillar foundations.

If the soil has a high load-bearing capacity, the structure can rest on beams erected on the ground. The weight of the structure must be light so that it can rest on the beam foundations. Furthermore, the cost of building the foundation is lower because there is no need to build additional foundations.

Stone foundation

Stone foundations are not uncommon in construction. Ancient buildings were mainly built of stone. Before the invention of concrete, stone foundations were one of the most important types of building foundations.

This type of house foundation can be seen in old buildings. Properly placed stones were used to build the foundation and superstructure of the house.

There is a type of mortar between the stones to maintain the connection between the stone and the mortar. These structures are more durable and stable.

Furthermore, stone foundations are a type of house foundation and are used as support structures.

Concrete pillar foundations with bored piles

These types of house foundations can be identified as Pile Foundations or Pillar Foundations.

Bored pile foundations made from concrete columns are reinforced concrete foundations and are not considered house foundations. They have a higher load-bearing capacity compared to other types of house foundations. If the bearing capacity of the soil is low or there is a high axial load, foundations are constructed using bored concrete piles.