Book excerpt: This international handbook is essential for geotechnical engineers and engineering geologists responsible for designing and constructing piled foundations. It explains general principles and practice and details current types of pile, piling equipment and methods. It includes calculations of the resistance of piles to compressive loads, pile groups under compressive loading, piled foundations for resisting uplift and lateral loading and the structural design of piles and pile groups. Marine structures, miscellaneous problems (including machinery foundations, underpinning, mining subsidence areas, contracts and frozen ground), durability of piled foundations, ground investigations, and pile testing are also covered. It introduces the 2005 version of Eurocode7, BS 8004 and other codes, and refers to BS 6349 on maritime structures, and new forms of civil engineering contracts suitable for piling projects. It includes numerous worked examples to the codes, many based on actual problems. It also gives very comprehensive information for students.