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Section 5 Applying Technology: Producing Products and Structures
Pile foundations. These types of
foundations are used on wet, marshy,
or sandy soils. Piles are driven into
the ground until they encounter solid
soil or rock. They are large poles made
of steel, wood, or concrete. Piles are
widely used for high-rise buildings,
marine docks, and homes in areas that
flood easily.
Each type of foundation is built in
a unique way. Let us consider a spread
foundation. The site is surveyed to locate
where the foundation will be placed. See
Figure 17-10. The site is then excavated in
preparation for the footings and the walls.
If the building is to have no crawl space
under the first floor, excavation does not go
as deep. Buildings with basements require
deeper excavations. Footing forms are set
up next. Forms are a lumber frame to hold
the wet concrete until the concrete cures
(hardens). They give the footings or slabs
height and shape. Concrete is poured and
leveled off. When the concrete is cured,
the forms are removed. Walls of poured
concrete or concrete block are built atop
footings. Slabs are ready for aboveground
superstructures. Figure 17-11 shows an
excavation for a pool. Wooden foundations
use no concrete for either footings or
walls.
Building the Framework
The foundation becomes the base for
the next part of the building, the framework.
Erecting the framework gives the building
its size and shape. The framework includes
the floors, interior and exterior walls, ceil-
ings, and roof. Also, the locations of doors
and windows are set up at this time.
Spread
Foundation
Pile
Foundation
Slab
Foundation
Figure 17-9. Three types of foundations
used for buildings are spread, slab, and
pile.
Figure 17-10. This worker is surveying a
site for a new building. The survey locates
where the foundation will be placed.
Inland Steel Co.