Dear Inaz:
In my area of practice this 1/3 increase in allowable soil bearing is typically allowed for "transitory" wind and seismic loadings - possibly similar to a short, periodic "rocking" of your retaiting wall. However, this increase is allowed only if the design factor of safety is 3.0...
Dear Mike00:
In my humble opinion the "best" geotechnical trext for supporting your attempt at the PE exam is "Geotechnical Engineering Analysis and Evaluation" by Roy E. Hunt; published by McGraw-Hill in 1986. You will find excellent written text explaining ewach element of geotechnical...
g7mann [geotechnical]
evilscott:
The 2H:1V setback criterion is one developed predominantly by public agencies to make sure they are "safe." Whilst it is nice to set one stage of wall back twicwe the height of the wall in my more than thirty years of ewxperience it has niot been necessary...
g7mann [geotechnical]
Boy - this is a really fun discussion isnt it?
Focht3 is correct in that partial underpinning can, and usually is, much more risky than underpinning an entire structure. However, I also like the idea of waiting and watching to see what, if any, movement occurs. From...
g7mann [geotechnical]
Hi jcali:
You should be able to find a local shotcrete contractor in the yellow pages. Alternatively, you might call one of my local shotcreters, a guy who does very high quality work. He can probably put you in touch with a local specialist. Call John Fulford at...
g7mann [geotechnical]
Dear jcali:
This siutation is NOT a deal breaker if the house price is right. It does provide a negotiating point regarding the selling price.
In my opinion, based on my experience, you have two practical options here. Thge best method is to raise the house...
g7mann [geotechnical]
Dear newlife99:
You seem to have a couple of options here. Yes, you can underpin the existing wall with concrete "pillars", but very carefully. Since the existing builkding has no footing you will essentially need to provide one by eventually forming a continuous...
g7mann [geotechnical]
Dear geotechgal - since I was the primaryu author of the ARC Guidelines perhaps I can help. I often engineer rock walls for seafront bulkheads wher the hydraulic pressure can be truly huge. Fortunately this is not often an issue.
The rock wall cannot be accurately...
g7mann [geotechnical]
It is unclear to me specifically what sort of "stone" you intend to use for this wall. We often "engineer" stacked-in-place rock walls of heights up to thirty (30) feet. In order to determine the appropriate mass of rock in-place to resist lateral sliding and...
g7mann [geotechnical]
Typical practice in my area virtually requires that the soldier piles and lagging be left in-place. Since the soldier piles are almost always set in concrete they truly cannot be pulled. Also, in the great majority of situations, the soldier pile and lagging walls are...
Sheery:
I was faced with a virtually identical situation about two years ago. In this case there was a [three] tiered Keystone block wall located just inside the property line. The wall not only provided the "edge" to a site but it also "retained" a buried circular metal detention tank. In...
goochy:
As well described in the previous responses an MH soil is unsuitable for use as a compacted fill behind a segmental block wall. Unfortunately, many contractors will use whatever soil is available, and usually the cheapest [free if possible] for backfilling purposes. The primary issue...
g7mann[geotechnical]
The inclusion of "large" or "oversize' materials in an engineered fill is relatively common and is not necessarily a bad situation. Whilst not desirable the presence of larger materials in a fill matirx is often practically and/or economically unavoidable. However, if...
g7mann [geotechnical]
Dear Chesehead:
You might also consider the use of driven-in-place small diameter [typically 2 or 3 inch] steel pin-piles to provide underpinning support. These piles can be driven inside or outside the foundation, whichever is the most practical and least expensive...
g7mann:
Hi - this use of heavy duty pavements over "soft" and/or compressible soils is difficult and challenging. You might look at Geofoam, a lightweight polystyrene material as an underlay for a road [pavement] section. This allows for overexcavation and removal of up to several feet of...
