substructure
Base beneath surface
Substructure is the underlying framework that supports something built on top of it.
In construction, it's the foundation beneath a building or the supports beneath a bridge deck.
The term extends to any foundational layer: the substructure of an argument, the economic substructure of society.
The opposite is superstructure.
Secure ground position
- groundworkFoundational preparation for something
- bedrockSolid stone underground
- subgradeSoil layer supporting pavement
- substrateUnderlying supporting material
underpinning · pile · mat · raft · earthwork · geotechnical · substratum · underlayer
Underlying support system
- girderMain structural support beam
- beamStructural support member
- trussLoad-bearing beam arrangement
- joistHorizontal structural beam
column · pillar · reinforcement · load-bearing · cantilever · buttress · strut · rafter
Horizontal layer of material
- layerSingle thickness of material
- sedimentParticles settling in liquid
- bedrockSolid stone underground
- substratumFoundational layer beneath
deposit · soil · earth · minerals · fossils · excavation · subsurface · underground
To uphold or sustain
- reinforcementAdding support or encouragement
- anchorageSecure harbor spot
- load-bearingSustaining structural mass
- resilienceCapacity to recover quickly
durability · robustness · strength · rigidity · firmness · integrity · soundness · solidity
footing
Secure ground position
- groundworkFoundational preparation for something
- bedrockSolid stone underground
- subgradeSoil layer supporting pavement
substrate · underpinning · pile · mat · raft · earthwork · geotechnical · substratum · underlayer · settlement
framework
Underlying support system
joist · column · pillar · reinforcement · load-bearing · cantilever · buttress · strut · rafter · bracing
stratum
Horizontal layer of material
substratum · deposit · soil · earth · minerals · fossils · excavation · subsurface · underground · core
support
To uphold or sustain
- reinforcementAdding support or encouragement
- anchorageSecure harbor spot
- load-bearingSustaining structural mass
resilience · durability · robustness · strength · rigidity · firmness · integrity · soundness · solidity · resistance
blueprint
Detailed technical drawing
- fundamentalsbasics, fundamentals, essentials, foundation, ABCs
- amphitheaterstiered seating, tiers, seats, oval shape, semicircle
- foundationsfoundation, foundations, base, footing, footings
- structural supportsbeams, posts, columns, scaffold, girders
- roadbedroadbed, trackbed, track bed, railbed, subgrade
- partspart, piece, section, segment, portion
substructuresuperstructure
Construction above the base
facade · exterior · top layer · overlay · outer layer