What Should be Included in a Foundation Investigation?

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It seems that everyone seems to have a different opinion of how to conduct a foundation investigation. I have been a member of two different foundation repair networks (both Ram Jack and Foundation Supportworks) and a longtime member of the National Foundation Repair Association (http://www.foundationrepair.org/) . In addition I often get to see the work done by my competitors in terms of an investigation. It is amazing how much difference there is.

For some reason the foundation repair industry has not adopted a consensus methodology. Some contractors walk around the house with a 4 foot level and make notes on a floor plan. Some read floor elevations with a water or ZIP level. Some walk around take pictures and make notes on a floor plan. I have even seen some contractors merely walk around and opine on cracks. For example saying something like ”this crack is a normal settlement crack”. As if there is some definition of what a “normal settlement crack” is or is not. On one occasion one contractor…. for their investigation that they charged money, for simply presented a quote for soil borings from a third party geotechnical engineer.

Because of this widely differing methodology you might imagine there are a wide variety of results. How is a person supposed to know which one is right?

The first question to ask is “is this investigation following any consensus industry guidelines or protocols?” I know of only two consensus standards for foundation investigations. And they are remarkably similar. The first is the foundation performance Association (FPA) (http://www.foundationperformance.org/) , and the second is the Texas chapter of the ASCE (American Society of civil engineers) (http://www.texasce.org/) .

Both the FPA and the Texas ASCE break investigations into three categories, A, B, and C and they are summarized as follows. For a full detailed list follow the links to their websites.

A. A simple walk around and observation of history and easily discernible signs of stress. This is usually done as an initial investigation to see if a more thorough investigation is warranted.

B.This investigation should include a floor plan drawn up, floor level readings, photographs, history, aerial photos, deflection analysis, and a damage map on the floor plan.

C. This investigation includes soil borings, lab analysis, a more in-depth historical aerial photo analysis.

Level A is usually just used to determine if an investigation is warranted. Sometimes in real estate transactions it can be used to simply see if a house has any issues or not.

Level B is the bulk of the investigations and is commonly used to determine what repairs are needed on a house with foundation movement.

Level C is usually performed when there are lawsuits or insurance claims.

So a good question to ask anyone who is investigating your foundation is what level of investigation are you performing? Or are there any standards being followed at all? If so what are they and what consensus do they represent. Single source supplier instructions don’t really count. Acting really confident and puffing up your experience does not really count either.

TEAM BUILD GOLF MIXER

Want to join the next Golf Event in May, Leave your comments here, to find out how!


The weather was perfect for a golf networking event

From Left to right

Mike Annala: SAECO

Dewayne Craig: Arizona Foundation Solutions

Mondo Kapita : Golder & Associates

Ryan Adams: APS

Tony Polusny: Pangolin Structural Engineering

Brian Lester: Arizona Foundation Solutions

After lunch Serge Rivera Pro instructor helped the group with individual needs:

Tony Polusny working on putting skills

Mike Annala showing off his polished form

Ryan Adam showing off why he is so successful at APS

Mondo Kapita…. What a swing!

This was a small but very effective group for networking. Although I was in Cancun at the time of the event (SOMEBODY has to do itJ), everyone tells me they had a great time.

My new AZRE CE approved real estate classes

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On Wednesday, April 6 at 1 PM I will be offering another one of my AZRE approved continuing education courses for realtors. The link for all the information is here; foundationrepair.eventbrite.com 

September 29 of last year, I posted a blog talking about the fact that I would be offering these courses, you can check out the blog here. In the great recession many mortgage lenders and insurance companies were left with problem homes that had severe foundation issues as people walked from these homes when they discovered that there was foundation problems. By offering foundation assessments will on the close of every escrow these problems can be avoided up front.

In addition by documenting floor levels, a baseline can be established for comparison to the future for insurance claims or any other movement that might occur. This will enable more accurate time dated assessments.

I do the training education for the local ASHI group here in Arizona. As a result many home inspectors are familiar enough with the basic signs foundation or floor movement and refer us as needed. The problem with this approach is that if there is not an automatic extension to the inspection period then it is not realistic to get the inspection done in a report written in the time that is left.

One of the things that I will be suggesting is to make the foundation inspection standard for every closing. In this way the baseline can be established and realtors can protect themselves from claims that you they did not do their due diligence.

Here is some comments on my last class that I taught.

                  

Testimonial:

Wow, what a great and informative class that was presented by instructor Bob Brown from Arizona Foundation Solutions. My Realtors and myself learned so much from your class! The interactive videos & active class interaction helped us visualize, better absorb and put things into perspective with regards to foundation issues. I know now that when Foundation issues arise which they will because they are common in our industry (real estate),  I will feel confident providing my clients and agents with a great resource.

Thank you Bob!

Gutters and drainage improvements vs MoistureLevel smart foundation system

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Recently I have heard about some contractor’s claim that gutters and drainage are a viable alternative to the moisture level system. While I have always maintained that maintaining proper drainage and limiting the moisture intrusion under a slab on houses built in the arid Southwest are a good thing and should be encouraged. We offer those techniques to customers as a method to control additional moisture getting under the slab.

What I don’t agree with is that they are a viable alternative in lieu of a MoistureLevel System, and the logic is fairly straightforward. In my upcoming blog I will share the process of sub slab moisture accumulation, where I show 3 mechanisms that facilitate this process.

The point that I want to make is that gutters and maintaining proper drainage really has no immediate large effect on the area that is experiencing the problem….. the place where the moisture accumulates the most, the center of the slab. See the diagram above. Notice where the problem is…. And now notice the area that is affected by installing gutters drainage improvements….. the edge!

What do you think the effect on the slab will be by drying the soil near the edges? If you have been following my blogs in the past you will know that as those clays dry they will shrink more. 

Is your foundation inspector the fox guarding the hen house?

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Carl Sagan wrote some excellent rules for the fine art of baloney detection.  Among others the facts should be independently verified, and the need to examine the motivations of those making claims.

Most foundation repair companies when called will send out a helical pier salesman who gets paid a percentage of what he diagnoses and sells. So if he wants to “play it safe” he will “err on the side of conservatism “, lining his pocket in the process. What if the problem calls for something he does not sell? Well….. get ready for square pegs in round holes!

How would you feel if after seeing your Doctor you found out that he really wasn’t an MD but rather a pharmaceutical representative? Especially if every his answer to every problem was one brand of pills.

What are the motivations of your inspector? If he is getting a percentage of what he diagnoses, he might need to make a big sale to keep his manager off of his back. He might need to pay for his kids braces. He might be on roll for making big sales and wants to continue it.

Does this have anything to do with what the actual house conditions really are? Should any of those factors have any influence on what the problem actually is, how bad it is, how big the area is and what the solutions actually need to be?

10 questions your foundation inspector may not want you to ask….. for you to protect yourself

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1. Are you the fox who is guarding the hen-house? (if you find a large area to fix, are you paid a commission on how much you sell?)
2. Are you following any recognized Industry standard procedure for the foundation investigation? ( or are you just looking at things with your own agenda)
3. Are you doing any industry standard recognized scientific analysis? (or are you just shooting from the hip with on the spot with first impression, rough gut feel?)
4. Is there any engineering oversight for this? (Or are you just ACTING confident?)
5. Have you received any credible training other than a single source supplier? ( thus able to only recognize problems that match up with that suppliers products offered)
6. Do you follow any objective measurement standards of measuring the severity of the problem? (or do I have to rely on your subjective assessment?)
7. What is your reputation on Google, Yelp, Angie’s List, BBB and/or Rosie Romero? (if you have none….. why?)
8. Do you care enough about me to write down all of my goals and objectives for this and communicate it to everyone in your company?
9. Will you be pulling a permit for this? (if not when I sell this house someday, will I pay a price when I disclose that the work was done without a permit?)
10. Will I receive plans and drawings stamped by an engineer? Or will I receive your off the cuff plan? If I receive a plan later from an engineer….. how do I know that it will not change drastically?

In the next few posts we will explore each of these in more detail.

Team Build Golf Mixer

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This was a super successful event with everyone having great time. Closest to the pin was contested in the virtual Room from the Pebble Beach Course by Bernie our instructor. Also driving instruction was given by Scott our 2^nd Golf Pro.

Lunch, golf pro instruction 9 holes, and drinks provided by the sponsors. After the lunch and instruction we followed up with nine holes to practice the tips that we picked up. The weather was awesome and the networking was as usual very rewarding

This month’s Team Build was sponsored by:
           
          Arizona Foundation Solutions
          Euclid
          Jones Concrete
          Cornerstone Masonry
          Sideplate

Left to right:

 Fred Sobottka (Beauchamp, Rimkus, Structural Force)

 Chad Sipple, (MBJ)

 Clinton Wilkens(Salt River Materials).

 Bob Zuehl, (MBJ)

 John Ellis (JF Ellis),

 Tim Pierce, (Charles Court)

 Bob Brown, (AFS)

 Robert Hernandez (Jones Concrete),

 Dave Flax (Euclid)

 Bob Whalen (Trusdel),

 Jim Longworth(Cornerstone Masonry),

 Blake McGraw(Trusdel),

 Steve Leon (Carwraps AZ),

 Scott Palmer, (Salt River Materials)

 Missing Erin Conaway (Sideplate).

      Robert Hernandez and Tim Pierce practice driving in the performance Center.

Using sub slab depressurization to mitigate vapor transmissions

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In my last blog I discussed the vexing problem of vapor transmissions through slabs on grade. In my previous post, MoistureLevel system proves cost effective for treating vapor transmission, I discussed the damage and consequences of moisture vapor as well as moisture transmission through capillary suction in concrete slabs on grade.

I also discussed in more detail the difficulties with current approaches to resolving this problem that are costly, invasive, and present difficulties with performance.

Over the last 13 years David Deatherage PE and I have been developing sub slab depressurization systems. I have filed a patent with the patent trade office approximately 3 years ago and have been installing the systems for almost 2 years with almost 200 of them installed to date.

The advantages to using this system to control vapor transmission through slabs on grade are:

• It is not invasive to install.  Most systems can be installed in one day or less.  No move out required and no moving of furniture or floor coverings.
• It minimizes slab curling since it is drying the slab equally both top and bottom.
• It is effective since it intercepts both vapor and liquid water before it encounters the bottom of the slab.
• It is cost-effective.  Usually in the $1 per square foot range to install with an approximate $4000 and change minimum.
• Longevity.  Since the fan runs continuously, the system controls future moisture problems.  The electricity to run the fan is comparable to a light bulb.

We are now installing this on several projects now for this type of remediation.  Stay tuned for case studies.

MoistureLevel system proves cost effective for treating vapor transmission

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Our vapor transmission slabs on grade vexing problem the industry has struggled with many decades. Millions of dollars of damage has occurred as adhesives fail, coatings de-bond from hydrostatic pressure, and sometimes so much water has been coming through that standing water can be observed in the surface of the concrete. This moisture transmission through slabs also promotes ASR or alkali silica reaction, a common problem here in the Southwest and other areas of the country where the aggregates have high silica content that reacts with the alkali of the cement. This produces a guey substance that forces its way to the top of the slab and in many cases breaks up the slab from internal forces. Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport is a victim of such a phenomenon.

Concrete is poured within excess of water typically called water of convenience that does not bind with the cement particles. This excess water takes many years to remove itself. In addition there are number of mechanisms that bring water under the slab. One such mechanism is clays suction from around the perimeter of a foundation. I document that more fully in my previous blog, "Evidence of MoistureLevel Smart Foundation System Performance." In addition through the “stack effect”, water vapor along with other gases is pulled in from around the perimeter of a structure to replace gases that are transmitted up through the foundation into the structure and by heat convection drawn up into the attic. This is a well-documented process for one of those gases, radon.

Particularly here in the arid Southwest, air-conditioning dries the surface of the slab promoting vapor transmission as well as condensation of water vapor as it is pulled through the slab. As water condenses the pH level is usually around seven which can promote dissolution and attacking of cement particles causing great greater voids in the concrete thus exacerbating the problem. Once this process has begun de-bonding of most surface treatments becomes more problematic over time.

Most solutions to this problem involve installing sealers on the surface of the concrete. This is problematic at best for the following reasons:

• Hydrostatic pressure can be a very powerful force and is likely over time to build up and become strong enough to the bond almost any coating or floor treatment.
• In order for sealing to be effective all floor coverings and all fixtures must be removed including kitchen, baths, built-in desks, and all cabinets. If this is not done than the vapor transmission becomes concentrated where it is not applied creating mold problems.
• The inconvenience of removing everything necessitates full move out and accommodations to live and or work somewhere else until the project is done.
• The cost of such a project is very expensive.

The problem here in the Southwest is exacerbated by the reluctance of installers to install a vapor barrier under the slab. Because of the arid hot curing conditions, placing a vapor barrier underneath a slab promotes extreme slab curling due to the difference of evaporation on the sealed bottom versus the open top.

In my next blog I will lay out the reasoning as to why he moisture level system is a suitable cost-effective solution to this problem.