• catch basin: A receptacle for the runoff of surface water, having a basin which retains heavy sediment before it can pass into an underground drainpipe.
• needle beam: A shoring member inserted through a wall at intervals and resting on outside and inside supports.
• soldier beam: A steel H-section driven vertically into the ground to support horizontal sheeting or lagging. Also called soldier beam.
• batter board: One of a number of boards set horizontally with vertical stakes to support the strings outlining the foundation plan of a proposed building.
• box culvert: A reinforced concrete culvert having a rectangular cross section.
• coffer dam: A temporary, watertight enclosure, carried below water line, to facilitate construction that will later be submerged.
• cofferdam: A temporary, watertight enclosure, carried below water line, to facilitate construction that will later be submerged.
• coffer-dam: Watertight enclosure constructed of two rows of piles with clay packed between them used when constructing a bridge-pier, etc., in water.
• building storm drain: A building drain for conveying rainwater, groundwater, or similar discharge to a building storm sewer or a combined sewer. Also called house storm drain.
• curtain drain: A drain placed between the source of water and the area to be protected.
• French drain: A drainage trench filled with rock or brick fragments and covered with soil.
• house storm drain: A building drain for conveying rainwater, groundwater, or similar discharge to a building storm sewer or a combined sewer. Also called house storm drain.
• intercepting drain: A drain placed between the source of water and the area to be protected.
• runoff: Something that drains or flows off, as rain that flows off the land in streams.
• site drainage: The surface and subsurface drainage of a site in order to prevent the collection of excess surface water or groundwater.
• storm drain: A sewer for conveying rainfall drained from roofs and paved surfaces. Also called storm drain.
• subgrade: The prepared earth surface upon which a pavement, concrete slab, or foundation is built. A subgrade should be stable, drain well, and be relatively free of frost action.
• subsurface drainage: The grading and surfacing of a site in order to divert rain and other surface water into natural drainage patterns or a storm sewer system.
• surface drainage: The grading and surfacing of a site in order to divert rain and other surface water into natural drainage patterns or a storm sewer system.
• area drain: In British usage, a narrow area to keep the dampness of the soil away from the foundation walls. Properly, it is uncovered and uninterrupted in its length, the cross walls, if used, having large openings at the bottom.
• culvert: A structure affording passage for water beneath ground level, as for a small stream crossed by a roadway.
• underdrain: A perforated pipe installed in porous fill to draw off groundwater.
• earthwork: Work done in removing earth, gravel, loose stone, and the like. 2. With the article, a mound, rampart, or the like; used especially in fortification.
• bench terrace: An embankment constructed across sloping ground with a steep drop on the downside.
• endwall: A concrete or masonry retaining wall at the outlet of a drain or culvert.
• excavation: The digging out or removal of earth or rock, whether for grading the surface, for cellars under buildings, or for trenches for foundations, sewers, pipes, etc…
• backfill: Soil, sand, or other material used to fill an area that has been previously excavated, or such material used to slope or fill the ground around a structure so that water will drain away from the foundation; called infill in Great Britain.
• blow: An unwanted flow of water and solid matter into an excavation, due to excessive outside water pressure. Also called blow.
• boil: An unwanted flow of water and solid matter into an excavation, due to excessive outside water pressure. Also called blow.
• cut and fill: An excavating operation in which the excavated material is moved to another location and used as fill.
• dewater: To remove water from an excavated job site, usually by draining or pumping.
• existing grade: The elevation of the original ground surface before excavation or grading begins. Also called natural grade.
• lagging: Temporary support for the masonry of an arch or vault. 2. A number of boards jointed together side by side to retain the face of an excavation.
• natural grade: The elevation of the original ground surface before excavation or grading begins. Also called natural grade.
• sitework: Work done at a site in preparation for a construction project, as excavation, sheeting, shoring, and grading.
• tremie: A movable form for placing concrete under water.
• below grade: Occurring or situated below the surface of the ground.
• fine grading: The precise grading of an area after rough grading to prepare for paving, seeding, or planting.
• finish grade: The elevation of drives, walks, lawns, or other improved surfaces after completion of construction or grading operations, Also, finished grade.
• finished grade: The elevation of drives, walks, lawns, or other improved surfaces after completion of construction or grading operations, Also, finished grade.
• grade: The ground level around a building
• grade line: The ground level around a building
• grade stake: A stake marking the amount of cut or fill required to bring the ground to a specified level.
• grub: To remove trees, shrubs, and the like, with their roots.
• rough grading: The cutting, filling, and shaping of earth in preparation for finish grading.
• headwall: A concrete or masonry retaining wall at the inlet of a drain or culvert.
• manhole: An access chamber for underground piping, wiring, or the like, or the cover of same at grade. 2. An access hole, with cover, for a boiler or tank.
• controlled fill: Fill material that is placed in layers, compacted, and tested after each compaction for moisture content, depth of lift, and bearing capacity before additional layers are placed.
• fill: To raise an existing grade with earth, stone, or other material, or the quantity of material used in building up the level of an area.
• made ground: Ground that has been raised to a higher level by filling with hard rubble, as stone or broken brick. Also called made-up ground.
• made-up ground: Ground that has been raised to a higher level by filling with hard rubble, as stone or broken brick. Also called made-up ground.
• borrow pit: A pit from which sand, gravel, or other construction material is taken for use as fill in another location.
• test pit: A small pit dug to examine the existing soil conditions and determine the depth of the water table at a proposed building site.
• encroachment: The unauthorized extension of a building, or part thereof, on the property or domain of another.
• groundbreaking: The act or ceremony of breaking ground for a new construction project.
• groundwater: The water beneath the surface of the ground that supplies wells and springs, consisting largely of surface water that has seeped down.
• recharge: The process by which groundwater is absorbed into the water table.
• setback: An architectural device in which the upper stories of a tall building are stepped back from the lower stories.
• cutoff: A wall or other structure intended to eliminate or reduce percolation through porous strata.
• swale: A shallow depression formed by the intersection of two ground slopes, often designed to direct or divert the runoff of surface water.
• building storm sewer: A drain connecting a building storm drain to a storm sewer, combined sewer, or other point of disposal. Also called house storm sewer.
• combined sewer: A sewer conveying both sewage and rainfall drained from roofs and paved surfaces.
• house storm sewer: A drain connecting a building storm drain to a storm sewer, combined sewer, or other point of disposal. Also called house storm sewer.
• storm sewer: A sewer designed for carrying away storm water as differentiated from sewage.
• dead shore: A vertical shoring timber left in a wall after the completion of the repairs or underpinning on account of which it was introduced; the masonry or brickwork being built up to it on either side, or even around it on all sides.
• flying shore: A horizontal strut fixed between and supporting two walls above ground level.
• needle: A shoring member inserted through a wall at intervals and resting on outside and inside supports.
• raking shore: An inclined shore for supporting a wall.
• shore: A piece of timber to support a wall, usually set in a diagonal or oblique position, to hold the wall in place while the underpart of it is taken out for repairs, or for the cutting of larger window openings, or the like.
• shore up: To hold or support by means of shores.
• site: A specific plot of ground, as where a building is located or is to be erected.
• curb cut: A depression in a curb providing vehicular access from a street to a driveway on private property.
• tieback: A steel rod or tendon attached to a deadman or a rock or soil anchor to prevent lateral movement of a retaining wall or framework.
• shoring: Temporary buttress-like supports to prevent collapse of a building under alteration or of a structure adjoining a new operation.
• slurry wall: A concrete wall cast in a trench to serve as sheeting and often as a permanent foundation wall, constructed by excavating a trench in short lengths, filling it with a slurry of bentonite and water to prevent the sidewalls from collapsing, setting reinforcement, and placing concrete in the trench with a tremie to displace the slurry.
• burden: Waste earth and rock overlying a useful mineral deposit, bedrock, or a deposit of sand, gravel, or rock needed for construction. Also called burden.
• overburden: Waste earth and rock overlying a useful mineral deposit, bedrock, or a deposit of sand, gravel, or rock needed for construction. Also called burden.
• perched water table: A water table of limited area, held above the normal water table by an impervious layer.
• absorbing well: A drainage pit lined with gravel or rubble to receive surface water and allow it to percolate away to absorbent earth underground.
• Abyssinian well: A perforated pipe driven into the ground for pumping out collected ground water.
• dry well: A pit, usually filled with coarse stone, into which water or effluent is led for leaching.
• wellpoint: A perforated tube driven into the ground to collect water from the surrounding area so it can be pumped away, as to lower a water table or to prevent an excavation from filling with groundwater.
• primary compression: A reduction in volume of a soil mass under the action of a sustained load, due chiefly to a squeezing out of water from the voids within the mass and a transfer of the load from the soil water to the soil solids.
• primary consolidation: A reduction in volume of a soil mass under the action of a sustained load, due chiefly to a squeezing out of water from the voids within the mass and a transfer of the load from the soil water to the soil solids. Also called primary compression.
• secondary consolidation: A reduction in volume of a soil mass under the action of a sustained load, due chiefly to adjustment of the internal structure of the soil mass after most of the load has been transferred from the soil water to the soil solids.
• caisson: An air chamber without bottom, used in excavation through water or mood, and carrying down on its own top the beginning of a masonry foundation. 2. A recessed panel in a flat, vaulted or domed roof, which reduced weight and added a decorative element.
• rock caisson: A socked caisson having a steel H-section core within a concrete-filled pipe casing.
• socketed caisson: A caisson that is drilled into a stratum of solid rock rather than belled.
• basing: Also see footing.
• footing: An enlargement at the base of a foundation wall or pier; its function is to transmit the superimposed load to the soil below. A footing is generally made of concrete, but may also be made of timber, iron, or large flat stones. Note that the pile foundation – a pile is a long wood or metal beam driven into the ground – is friction-supported and therefore requires no footing.
• footing stone: Any stone intended for the construction of a footing; especially, a broad, flat stone for forming the base course of a foundation.
• footings: Projecting courses at the bottom of a wall or pier: those below walls are continuous footings, and single-column footings are those under point-loads such as columns or piers. Footings, being wider than the walls or piers, distribute the loads.
• isolated footing: A single spread footing supporting a freestanding column or pier.
• spread footing: Truncated pyramidal structure under a pier which spreads the load rather than having it in one place. Such footings, in section like a truncated triangle, can be used under walls.
• stepped footing: A continuous or strip footing that changes levels in stages to accommodate a sloping site or bearing stratum.
• strip footing: The continuous spread footing of a foundation wall.
• allowable bearing capacity: The maximum unit pressure a foundation is permitted to impose vertically or laterally on a supporting soil mass. Allowable bearing pressures for various soil classifications are conservative values permitted by building codes in the absence of geotechnical investigation and testing of the soil.
• allowable bearing pressure: The maximum unit pressure a foundation is permitted to impose vertically or laterally on a supporting soil mass. Allowable bearing pressures for various soil classifications are conservative values permitted by building codes in the absence of geotechnical investigation and testing of the soil. Also called allowable bearing capacity, allowable soil pressure.
• blind area: An area covered and concealed and intended merely to keep the foundation walls dry and free from the soil. In British usage, differing from an Area Drain (which see) in having solid cross walls, and being commonly covered.
• brick fender: A brick foundation wall to support a hearth at the lowest story of a house.
• brick masonry foundation wall: Brick wall that encloses a basement or crawl space and supports the parts of the building that are above grade.
• caisson foundation: From French, caisse, “box.” A technique for constructing deep foundations in loose, saturated soils, developed in the United States, 1865-90. An open-bottom air-tight chamber is lowered into the soil and the earth is excavated from beneath it by workmen called “sand hogs.” As the chamber descends, the air pressure inside the chamber is increased to match the water pressure outside; meanwhile the hole left above is lined or filled with stones or concrete. When dense soils or solid rock is reached, the chamber is filled with concrete.
• deep foundation: A foundation system that extends down through unsuitable soil to transfer building loads to a more appropriate bearing stratum well below the superstructure.
• differential settlement: The relative movement of different parts of a structure caused by uneven settlement or failure of its foundation. Overlapping soil stresses may be caused by closely spaced footings or by adjacent footings located at different levels.
• dodai: In traditional Japanese architecture, the foundation sill (wooden) of a house.
• dodai-ishi: In traditional Japanese architecture, a foundation stone of a house.
• floating foundation: A foundation used in yielding soil, having for its footing a raft placed deep enough that the weight of the excavated soil is equal to or greater than the weight of the construction supported.
• foundation: The part of a structure that is in direct contact with the ground and serves to transmit the load of the structure to the earth; the substructure of a building (consisting of the foundation walls and footing).
• foundation investigation: The investigation and classification of a foundation soil based on observation and tests of material disclosed by borings or excavations to obtain the information necessary for the design of a foundation system, including the shearing strength, compressibility, cohesion, expansiveness, permeability, and moisture content of the soil, the elevation of the water table, and the anticipated total and differential settlement. Also called subsurface investigation.
• foundation stone: Also see cornerstone.
• foundation wall: A wall occurring below the floor nearest grade, designed to support and anchor the superstructure.
• foundation walls: Poured concrete, concrete block, brick, or rubble masonry walls that enclose a basement or crawl space and support the parts of a building that are above grade.
• grillage: A foundation mat of beams crossed and perhaps recrossed, often embedded in concrete.
• mat: A grid of reinforcement for foundation concrete.
• pier: A vertical structural support of a building, usually rectangular. 2. A cast-in-place concrete foundation formed by boring with a large auger or excavating by hand a shaft in the earth to a suitable bearing stratum and filling the shaft with concrete.
• pier foundation: Consists of piers resting on footings and supporting grade beams (upon which the superstructure is built).
• post and pier foundation: Rows of wood and concrete piers, spaced at appropriate intervals, support beams which form a base for the superstructure.
• poured concrete foundation wall: Poured concrete walls that enclose a basement or crawl space and support the parts of a building that are above grade.
• raft foundation: A foundation type developed in Chicago in the 1870s in which beams of either wood or steel are laid crosswise over piles and encased in concrete to form a pad for the base of a structural pier or column.
• ribbed mat: A mat foundation reinforced by a grid of ribs above or below the slab.
• sand foundation: A platform or bed of sand, natural or artificial, prepared for the erection of a building.
• settlement: The failure of the soil to hold a structure’s foundations where first located, or uneven failure in compression by members in the structure itself.
• shallow foundation: A foundation system placed directly below the lowest part of a substructure and transferring building loads directly to the supporting soil by vertical pressure.
• slab foundation: Poured concrete walls that enclose a basement or crawl space and support the parts of a building that are above grade.
• slab on grade: A concrete slab placed over a dense or compacted base and supported directly by the ground, usually reinforced with welded wire fabric or a grid of reinforcing bars to control any cracking caused by drying shrinkage or thermal stresses. Separate or integral footings are required for heavy or concentrated loads. Over problem soils, the slab must be designed as a mat or raft foundation.
• slab-on-grade foundation: A foundation which consists of a poured concrete slab.
• slab-on-ground foundation: A foundation which consists of a poured concrete slab.
• spread foundation: For a column or pier load, a foundation built like a pyramid to spread the weight over a large area. In soft soils, a spread foundation may be built over a cluster of piles. Spread foundations can be extended in a line for wall loads.
• substrate: Something that underlies or serves as a base or foundation.
• substratum: Something that underlies or serves as a base or foundation. Also called substrate.
• substruction: Foundation or structure below grade or below some arbitrary line, above which is the superstructure.
• substructure: Foundation or structure below grade or below some arbitrary line, above which is the superstructure.
• underpinning: The system of supports, such as rough walls or piers, beneath the ground floor. Also, the replacing or rebuilding of an infirm or old foundation so as to provide improved support.
• frost boil: A softening of soil resulting from the thawing of frozen groundwater.
• frost heave: An uplift in soil caused by the freezing of internal moisture.
• frostline: The maximum depth at which soil is frozen or frost penetrates the ground.
• allowable pile load: The maximum axial and lateral loads permitted on a pile, as determined by a dynamic pile formula, a static load test, or a geotechnical investigation of the foundation soil.
• anvil: The component of a pile hammer, located just below the ram, that transfers the driving force to the pile head.
• batter pile: A pile driven at a specified angle to the vertical in order to provide resistance against lateral forces.
• bearing stratum: A stratum of soil or rock on which a footing bears, or to which a building load is transferred by a pile or caisson.
• broom: To spread out in broom shape through separation of the fibers, as when a pile is partly crushed at its head under the blows of the pile driver.
• bulb: A bulge cast or formed at the bottom of a cast-in-place concrete pile to enlarge its bearing area and strengthen the bearing stratum by compression. 2. The glass housing of an incandescent lamp, filled with an inert gas mixture, usually of argon and nitrogen, to retard evaporation of the filament, its shape is designated by a letter, followed by a number that indicates the lamp diameter.
• cased pile: A concrete pile constructed by driving a steel pipe or casing into the ground until it meets the required resistance and then filling it with concrete.
• cast-in-place concrete pile: A pile constructed by placing concrete into a shaft in the ground.
• composite pile: A pile constructed of two materials, as a timber pile having a concrete upper section to prevent the portion of the pile above the water table from deteriorating.
• cushion block: A cap for protecting a pile head as well as the pile hammer during a driving operation.
• cushion head: A cap for protecting a pile head as well as the pile hammer during a driving operation.
• drive band: A steel band encircling the head of a timber pile to prevent it from splitting when driven. Also called pile ring.
• drive shoe: The hard, pointed or rounded foot of a pile or caisson for piercing underlying soil.
• dynamic pile formula: Any of several formulas by which the allowable axial load on a pile can be calculated from the energy required for a pile hammer to advance the pile foot a specified distance into the subsoil.
• end-bearing pile: A pile depending principally on the bearing resistance of soil or rock beneath its foot for support. The surrounding soil mass provides a degree of lateral stability for the long compression member. Also called point-bearing pile.
• friction pile: A pile depending principally on the frictional resistance of surrounding earth for support.
• H-pile: A steel H-section driven as a pile, sometimes encased in concrete to a point below the water table to prevent corrosion. H-sections can be welded together in the driving process to form any length of pile.
• negative friction: An additional load on a pile resulting from settling of fill, which tends to drag the pile downward into the soil.
• pedestal pile: A cast-in-place concrete pile having an enlarged foot to increase its bearing area and strengthen the bearing stratum by compression, formed by forcing concrete out at the bottom of the casing into the surrounding soil.
• pile: An uncommon reference to the depth (front to back) of a house; a double-pile house is two rooms deep. 2. A wood or metal shaft driven into the ground as part of a foundation. 3. The upright tufts of yarn forming the surface of a carpet or fabric.
• pile cap: A reinforced concrete slab or mat joining the heads of a cluster of piers to distribute the load from a column or grade beam equally among the piles.
• pile driver: A machine by which a heavy weight is raised to a height and then allowed to fall suddenly. The windlass may be turned by hand, or by a small steam engine; the weight or hammer is commonly released by the automatic action of a hook which is thrown out of a ring when it reaches a certain height.
• pile eccentricity: The deviation of a pile from its plan location or from the vertical, resulting in a reduction of its allowable load.
• pile foundation: An enlargement at the base of a foundation wall or pier. A pile is a long wood or metal beam driven in to the ground. Friction supported and therefore requires not footing.
• pile ring: A steel band encircling the head of a timber pile to prevent it from splitting when driven.
• pile tolerance: The permitted deviation of a pile from the vertical, for which a reduction in allowable load is not required.
• pile weight: The average weight of pile yarn in a carpet, stated in ounces per square yard.
• piles: From Middle English and Latin pilum, “spear.” A heavy wooden timber or shaft of metal or concrete driven into the earth as a support for a foundation. Groups of piles may be driven in a close pattern to support a spread or raft foundation.
• piling: Made of timber, steel, or concrete, are often used where a structure is built on marshy ground.
• pilings: Made of timber, steel, or concrete, are often used where a structure is built on marshy ground.
• pipe pile: A heavy steel pipe driven with the lower end either open or closed by a heavy steel plate or point and filled with concrete. An open-ended pipe pile requires inspection and excavation before being filled with concrete.
• point of refusal: The point at which no additional settlement takes place after a pile has been loaded continuously for a specified period of time.
• point of resistance: The point at which a pile load causes a specified net settlement after being applied continuously for a specified period of time.
• point-bearing pile: A pile depending principally on the bearing resistance of soil or rock beneath its foot for support. The surrounding soil mass provides a degree of lateral stability for the long compression member.
• precast concrete pile: A precast, often prestressed concrete column, having a round, square, or polygonal section and sometimes an open core, driven into the earth by a pile driver until it meets the required resistance.
• pressure bulb: A zone in a loaded soil mass bounded by an arbitrarily selected isobar of stress, as from a single or a number of friction piles.
• pug pile: A series of accurately cut and squared timbers – generally broad and thin, as planks – drive in close contact, as for forming a temporary wall about a deep excavation… The form known as the pug pile has a tongue and groove of dovetail section by which it is tightly locked to its neighbors.
• ram: A large weight for driving piles and the like. 2. A machine for raising water.
• sand pile: A base for a footing in soft soil, made by compacting sand in a cavity left by a timber pile.
• sheath pile: Any of a number of timber, steel, or precast concrete planks driven vertically side by side to retain earth or prevent water from seeping into an excavation. Also called sheath pile.
• sheet pile: Any of a number of timber, steel, or precast concrete planks driven vertically side by side to retain earth or prevent water from seeping into an excavation. Also called sheath pile.
• skin friction: The friction developed between the sides of a pile and the soil into which the pile is driven, limited by the adhesion of soil to the pile sides and the shear strength of the surrounding soil mass.
• soldier pile: A steel H-section driven vertically into the ground to support horizontal sheeting or lagging. Also called soldier beam.
• spile: The term used in some localities to designate a pile, a columnar support driven into the ground.
• starling: A breakwater formed of piles driven closely side by side as a protection in hydraulic constructions. 2. One of the piles so used.
• sterling: Same as starling.
• stilt: One of several piles or posts for supporting a structure above the surface of land or water.
• stilts: One of several piles or posts for supporting a structure above the surface of land or water.
• sublica: In ancient construction, a pile driven into the earth, or into ground covered by water, to support a structure.
• timber pile: A log driven usually as a friction pile, often fitted with a steel shoe and a drive band to prevent it from splitting or shattering.
• uncased pile: A concrete pile constructed by driving a concrete plug into the ground along with a steel casing until it meets the required resistance, and then ramming concrete into place as the casing is withdrawn.
• yield point: The stress beyond which a marked increase in strain occurs in a material without a concurrent increase in stress. Many materials do not have clearly defined yield points. For these materials, a theoretical yield strength is calculated from the stress-strain curve. 2. The point at which an increase in pile load produces a disproportionate increase in settlement.
• hypobasis: The lower base or the lower-most division of a base. 2. A lower base which is below a more important one.
• hypopodium: Also see hypobasis.
• active earth pressure: The horizontal component of pressure that a soil mass exerts on a vertical retaining structure.
• allowable soil pressure: The maximum unit pressure a foundation is permitted to impose vertically or laterally on a supporting soil mass. Allowable bearing pressures for various soil classifications are conservative values permitted by building codes in the absence of geotechnical investigation and testing of the soil.
• arching: The transfer of stress from a yielding part of a soil mass to adjoining less-yielding or restrained parts of the mass. 2. A system of arches. 3. The arched part of a structure.
• contact pressure: The actual pressure developed between a footing and the supporting soil mass, equal to the quotient of the magnitude of the forces transmitted and the area of contact.
• critical height: The maximum height at which a vertical cut in a cohesive soil wills stand without shoring.
• passive earth pressure: The horizontal component of resistance developed by a soil mass against the horizontal movement of a vertical structure through the soil.
• soil pressure: The actual pressure developed between a footing and the supporting soil mass, equal to the quotient of the magnitude of the forces transmitted and the area of contact. Also called contact pressure.
• soil structure: The arrangement and aggregation of soil particles in a soil mass.

Also see Architecture index.