One of the most extraordinary parts of the house is not visible: the foundation. Because much of Astoria is slowly creeping downhill due to its geological formation, this house has a deep foundation system. The house is securely rooted to the siltstone underlying the surface layer. Engineer-designed, the foundation system begins with 18 concrete pilings each 24" diameter and embedded a minimum of 10' into the siltstone layer for an overall depth of between 25' to 32'. These pilings are all connected together at the surface by a heavily reinforced 10" thick concrete slab which creates the main floor area. The curved retaining walls at the driveway entrance are of a similar design and also have pilings going deep into the siltstone. Blind Moses Woodworking was proud to team up with Joel Bergeman of Bergeman Construction to build this foundation system and Mike Abrahams of ABA Construction to build the massive engineered basalt retaining walls. These deep underground foundations as well as the striking retaining walls that are above ground, stabilize this site and create a unique setting that is just three blocks from downtown Astoria. Note the double mat of reinforcing steel in the main floor slab and radiant heat pipes shown in the photo above.