For centuries, worldwide, wooden foundations were used under building constructions in areas with weak soils. In the western part of the Netherlands still many family houses and monumental constructions are supported by wooden foundations and some of these buildings showed severe settlement in the last decades. Main causes were decline in groundwater table, too high pile loads and wood decay under water. A non-destructive inspection strategy was developed to assess the status and predict the

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... formance for the next at least 25 years of wooden constructions. Application of this approach on hundreds of buildings in the Netherlands yielded important knowledge on possible causes and dynamics of (bacterial) degradation. This is essential to develop strategies for conservation and restauration of wooden pile foundations.