The whole house rests on the foundation or it will sink. What does the foundation rest on? Why doesn’t the foundation sink just as easily?

Question

I get that some foundations do have sinking issues, but how does having a foundation help? If the foundation is poured and solidifies, what stops the weight of the house from immediately sinking/tilting the foundation?

In: 2809

Answer 1

I can answer this as I design foundations for a living!

The foundations transfer the load of the building to “stronger” more competent soil. Different types of foundations, piles/strips transfer that load in different ways to different soils at different depths.

It’s all about dissipating load over an area depending on hardness/strength