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

There are some solid answers, so I won’t restate them.

I *will* give an example of building a big heavy building on an *insufficient* foundation.

[At this point, the Millennium Tower in San Francisco has sunk more than 18 inches, as well as leaning over since one side is sinking faster than the other.](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/jan/10/san-francisco-millennium-tower-sinking)