1. Pier Foundation
This driveway pier is located in The Snead on a residential property at the Greenbrier Sporting Club in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia.
The concrete footer is 1 foot deep and poured just below the frost- line. Two ½” re-bars are turned up into the grouted CMU rough-in to form a monolithic structure that is well anchored into the ground. Notice the over-build that serves as a ledge to carry the stone work.

2. Column Foundation
Smith Creek passes through downtown Clifton Forge, Virginia under Main Street and Ridgeway – and right through the foundations of several historical buildings!
The highlighted area of the following Google satellite image depicts the approximate outline of the structures supported on various column foundations that were originally designed over a hundred years ago to allow for unobstructed passage of seasonal floodwaters.

3. The next few images show the foundations of individual structures identified above.
Antique Shop: Columns on spread footing Main Street: Friction pilings & column footings
Sona Bank: Friction pilings & column footings Ridgeway: Friction pilings & column footings
Arts & Craft Center: Column footings Warehouse: Column footings

4. Slab-on-Grade
Slab-on grade foundations that are subject to ground movement due to freeze/thaw cycles include “frost-footers.” The footers are excavated below the frost line and poured continuously around the perimeter of the structure. Typically, CMU are laid with a ledge on the inside of the building for the concrete slab, and a short stem wall extends above the slab to elevate the wood framing to prevent moisture damage.
This slab-on-grade foundation is a detached garage in the Howard’s Creek neighborhood of the Greenbrier Sporting Club in White Sulphur Springs, WV. Notice the foundation wall above the slab and the bituminous foundation coating at grade – both to prevent moisture wicking.
This foundation is for a slab-on-grade, outdoor patio at a private residence at The Snead, also at the Greenbrier Sporting Club. Notice the continuous footer under 2 courses of 8” CMU. This foundation will be filled with gravel and capped with a reinforced concrete slab which will be paved over with natural flagstone.

5. Residential Basement
This foundation for a house on The Ridges at the Greenbrier Sporting Club demonstrates basement foundation walls, slab-on-grade, and column footings. A continuous footer spans the parameter and the walls are grouted solid, reinforced CMU walls. The basement walls are waterproofed with spray-applied polyurethane membrane and Dimple-board. The terrace foundations (slab-on-grade) have been damp-proofed with roll-on bituminous coating. The column footings in in the middle of the foundation will bear steel post that support the beam work of the floor system for the next level.

6. Crawl Space
This hundred-year-old, double-wythe, brick crawl space foundation supports my house in Clifton Forge, Virginia. It is ugly – but it is very sound! Notice the continuous footer.
The crawl space was very low (Tightest end was about 10 inches from the dirt to the floor joists) so we hand-dug the entire space to about 30 inches with brick-walled service tunnels about 5 feet deep. We plan to cap the exposed dirt with a thin, concrete rat-slab.
Railroad Track Bed (Foundation)
Living in a railroad town, I couldn’t resist this. . . We might not immediately recognize a track bed as a foundation, but the mountainous layers of soil and ballast under strategically placed wooden sleepers or ties are engineered to distribute thousands of tons to maintain straight rails and safe transportation.