When an owner really wants to avoid damage to their house in an area with expansive soils, they install the house foundation over a void (air gap between the soil and structure). The void can be made with cardboard boxes that rot away over time, or the structure can be framed to provide a crawl space. But even that isn't a sure thing. We have investigated a number of failures in buildings with the highest level of protection against foundation movement. In one case, soil movement caused the plumbing lines to crush into the structure because the plumbing lines were installed in soil that was moving, but the structure was not moving. Flooding of the void space resulted. In this case, the void boxes under the grade beams collapsed during concrete placement, eliminating the protection of the structure that was intended by using void boxes. Soil movement then caused distress in the house.
We reviewed the house plans, performed a field investigation, and assisted the owner in resolving the claim with their builder without drawn-out litigation. We performed construction monitoring to give the owner a level of assurance that the contractor followed through with the repair details.
