Vancouver concrete foundation footings are typically made of concrete with rebar reinforcement that has been poured into an excavated trench. The purpose of footings is to support the foundation and prevent settling.

A foundation is a lower portion of building structure that transfers its gravity loads to the earth. Foundations are generally broken into two categories: shallow foundations and deep foundations.[1]A tall building must have a strong foundation if it is to stand for a long time.

To make a foundation, we normally dig a trench in the ground, digging deeper and deeper until we come to subsoil, which is more solid than the topsoil that is used to grow plants and crops. When the trench is deep enough, we fill it with any strong, hard material we can find. Sometimes we pour in concrete into the trench, which we strengthen even more by first putting long thin round pieces of steel into the trench. When the concrete dries, the steel acts like the bones in our body to tie the foundation together. We call this reinforced concrete.

Once the foundation has been packed down tightly, or dried hard, we can begin to build the building superstructure.

Foundation is the lowest part of the building or the civil structure that is in direct contact with the soil which transfers loads from the structure to the soil safely. Generally, the foundation can be classified into two categories: shallow foundation or deep foundation. A shallow foundation transfers the load to a stratum present in a shallow depth. The deep foundation transfers the load to a deeper depth below the ground surface. A tall building like a skyscraper or a building constructed on very weak soil requires deep foundation. If the constructed building has the plan to extend vertically in future, then a deep foundation must be suggested.

Foundations are provided for all load carrying structure for following purposes:

Foundation are the main reason behind the stability of any structure. The stronger is the foundation, more stable is the structure. The proper design and construction of foundations provide a proper surface for the development of the substructure in a proper level and over a firm bed.

Specially designed foundation helps in avoiding the lateral movements of the supporting material. A proper foundation distributes load on to the surface of the bed uniformly. This uniform transfer helps in avoiding unequal settlement of the building. Differential settlement is an undesirable building effect.

The foundation serves the purpose of completely distributing the load from the structure over a large base area and then to the soil underneath. This load transferred to the soil should be within the allowable bearing capacity of the soil. Functions of Foundation in Construction Based on the purposes of foundation in construction, the main functions of the foundation can be enlisted as below:

Provide overall lateral stability for the structure
Foundation serve the function of providing a level surface for the construction of substructure
Load Distribution is carried out evenly
The load intensity is reduced to be within the safe bearing capacity of the soil
The soil movement effect is resisted and prevented
Scouring and the undermining issues are solved by the construction of foundation

Requirements of a Good Foundation

The design and the construction of a well-performing foundation must possess some basic requirements that must not be ignored. The design and the construction of the foundation is done such that it can sustain as well as transmit the dead and the imposed loads to the soil. This transfer has to be carried out without resulting in any form of settlement that can result in any form of stability issues for the structure.

Differential settlements can be avoided by having a rigid base for the foundation. These issues are more pronounced in areas where the superimposed loads are not uniform in nature. Based on the soil and area it is recommended to have a deeper foundation so that it can guard any form of damage or distress. These are mainly caused due to the problem of shrinkage and swelling because of temperature changes.

The location of the foundation chosen must be an area that is not affected or influenced by future works or factors.