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Because large buildings weigh a lot. Subsoil has varying degrees of 'bearing capacity' - the amount of weight it can carry. If you put a lot of weight on a subsoil of low bearing capacity it will compact, or be pushed aside. If the subsoil on the site of a large building has insufficient bearing capacity to carry the loads imposed on it by the building then the foundations would have to be taken to bedrock as this has 'unlimited' bearing capacity.

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Q: Why does the foundation of a very large building often go all the way down to the bedrock?
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What is the importance of bedrock?

Bedrock is important because it is just that, rock. The term bedrock is used to descibe any type of solid rock that lies beneath the loose topsoil. It is important because bedrock is what allows buildings to have solid foundations. Bedrock is particularly important to big buildings since the topsoil often cannot support the weight of the building and unless the foundation are dug down to bedrock the building would actually sink in the ground. In some areas, such southern Louisiana, the bedrock is so deep that it cannot be reached, in these cases the buildings rely on what are called friction pillings. Friction pillings are long poles or columns that are driven so deep into the ground that although they're not resting on bedrock the force of friction from the surrounding dirt prevents them from moving. I believe this is the technique that was used to build the new football stadiumin New Orleans.


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when the load distribution to the foundation is not uniform , it is refered to as unsymmentrical loading. It often leads to differential settlement of the foundation, spoiling the structural features of the building significantly...


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Large apartment buildings that were often loud, dirty, and crowded were called tenements.


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What are glacial striations and glacial erratics?

Striations are "scratches" left in bedrock by glaciers. A small particle of rock, generally pebble sized or smaller, becomes entrained in the base of the glacier and dragged along the surface of the bedrock. These can often be seen on hard bedrock surfaces that are resistant to subsequent weathering after the retreat of the glacier. Erratics are large rocks that are found out of place in the landscape, i.e. not near where they were formed. They are removed from their provenance by a glacier and transported away, before being deposited in a different part or the landscape when the glacier melts.