One of the basic requirements of any house is that it should remain dry and free from moisture. A wet structure reduces the strength of the structural components of the house. Moreover, it gives rise to unhygienic conditions and may become the breeding ground for several disease-causing organisms. Therefore keeping the house free of moisture becomes an important task while constructing a house. The process of attaining this is called damp proofing. Before we dive into damp proofing, let us look at the various causes of dampness in buildings.

We have already seen the two kinds of foundations used in building construction – Shallow and Deep Foundation. We also saw the most basic type of shallow foundation – the rubble foundation. Now let’s look at another type of shallow foundation namely the Strip foundation or Strip Footing.

A foundation is that part of a building that supports the weight of the superstructure. Its main purpose is to transmit the weight of the building to the underlying soil. This makes the foundation the most important part of a building. The type of foundation that you choose for your building depends on several factors including the type and strength of the soil, size of the building, proposed dead and live loads in the building etc.