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The frost depth depends on the climatic conditions of an area, the heat transfer properties of the soil and adjacent materials, and on nearby heat sources. For example, snow cover and asphalt insulate the ground and homes can heat the ground (see also heat island). The line varies by latitude, it is deeper closer to the poles.
A foundation must bear the structural loads imposed upon it and allow proper drainage of ground water to prevent expansion or weakening of soils and frost heaving. While the far more common concrete foundation requires separate measures to ensure good soil drainage, the rubble trench foundation serves both foundation functions at once.
Shallow foundations of a house versus the deep foundations of a skyscraper. Foundation with pipe fixtures coming through the sleeves. In engineering, a foundation is the element of a structure which connects it to the ground or more rarely, water (as with floating structures), transferring loads from the structure to the ground.
Slab-on-grade foundations should not be used in areas with expansive clay soil. While elevated structural slabs actually perform better on expansive clays, it is generally accepted by the engineering community that slab-on-grade foundations offer the greatest cost-to-performance ratio for tract homes. Elevated structural slabs are generally ...
Section through railway track and foundation showing the sub-grade. Grading in civil engineering and landscape architectural construction is the work of ensuring a level base, or one with a specified slope, [1] for a construction work such as a foundation, the base course for a road or a railway, or landscape and garden improvements, or surface drainage.
A retaining wall is designed to hold in place a mass of earth or the like, such as the edge of a terrace or excavation. The structure is constructed to resist the lateral pressure of soil when there is a desired change in ground elevation that exceeds the angle of repose of the soil.
A long trench, deeper than the frost line, is dug and U-shaped or slinky coils are spread out inside the same trench. Shallow 3–8-foot (0.91–2.44 m) horizontal heat exchangers experience seasonal temperature cycles due to solar gains and transmission losses to ambient air at ground level.
The climate of California varies widely from hot desert to alpine tundra, depending on latitude, elevation, and proximity to the Pacific Coast. California 's coastal regions, the Sierra Nevada foothills, and much of the Central Valley have a Mediterranean climate , with warmer, drier weather in summer and cooler, wetter weather in winter.