The contents of a building might weigh more than the building.
Dead load is the weight of a building itself and is almost entirely constant over the life of the building. It includes the structure (beams, columns, joists, etc.); primary building systems (exterior wall, windows, roofing, interior finishes, etc.), permanent architectural elements (stairways, partitions, flooring materials, etc.), and mechanical systems (heating, cooling, plumbing, electrical, etc.).
Live loads change over the life of a building. They come from people, furniture, vehicles, wind, earthquakes, snow, impacts of foreign objects, and similarly variable sources.
Total load is transmitted to the building foundation, then to the earth. The load received by a given area of a footing cannot exceed the bearing capacity of the soil, or the footing will sink.
