HomeMy WebLinkAboutEngineer's Field Observations 02.24.2012KURTZ & ASSOCIATES, 1NC.
5012 County Road 154
Glenwood Springs, CO 81601
STRUCTURAL CONSULTANTS
Phone (970) 945 6305
189 MOSHER: Observations 02/24/2012
The floor elevation of 189 Mosher appears to be higher than the elevation of Mosher Ave.
to the south of the building. On the north end of the building there are areas of localized,
negative drainage, where the surface drainage appears to be directed towards the building.
The building at 189 Mosher displays differential foundation settlement. The west side of
189 Mosher appears to have settled relative to the east, and that the north end has settled
relative to the south. Along the length of the building the settlement appears to be
relatively uniform.
The exterior, precast, wall panels display some distress and potential panel -to -panel
connection failure. On both the east and west walls three adjacent vertical panel joints
display vertical cracking in the face slab of the wall panels directly adjacent to joint and/or
separation of the panel -to -panel joint. ( West wall: see photo 1400jpg. East Wali: see
photo 1407. jpg + 1409. jpg) The wall cracking widens at the top of the wall panels,
indicating a differential settlement from north -to -south
There is an exterior landing at a man door on the east side of the building, near the north
east building corner. The landing is a concrete slab -on -grade which measures, in plan,
4'-0" x 4'-0". The slab appears to have settled differentially towards the building. At this
time the slab is out of level, east -to -west, 6" in 4'-0". (See photo 1412.jpg)
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KURTZ & ASSOCIATES, INC.
5012 County Road 154
Glenwood Springs, CO 81601
STRUCTURAL CONSULTANTS
Phone & Fax (970) 945 6305
FIELD OBSERVATION REPORT
To: Justin Thornburg
39 Goldfield Court
Parachute, Co. 81635
Date: June 25, 2015
Re: 189 Mosher,
Travelers highlands Industrial Park, Garfield County, CO.
Brian Kurtz, P,E. of Kurtz & Associates, Inc. performed a structural inspection of
the noted building on June 25, 2015. The noted building has suffered differential
foundation settlement.
The building measures, in plan, 64'-0" north -to -south by 30'-0" east -to -west. The
exterior wall height of each building = 16'-0". The exterior walls are constructed of 8'-0"
wide by 16'-0" high precast concrete wall panels. The roofs are framed with pre -
manufactured wood roof trusses spaced at 24" on center, spanning 30'-0" east -to -west.
The perimeter foundations were not exposed to view. Based upon previous observations
which I have made of similar buildings in the Travelers Highland Subdivision, it can be
concluded that the structure is founded upon a perimeter foundation system which is
constructed of continuous concrete foundation walls (grade walls) and footings. Note that
all of the building's loads (The building weight or dead load and the roof snow load) are
supported on the perimeter foundation walls and footings. There are no interior supports.
Given the height of the building, and the rigidity of the concrete wall panels, one is
able to view differential movements of the walls. Note that some of the exterior wall
panels have window openings and man -door openings which were formed into the pre-
cast panels. The subject building has two (2) locations where the precast panel was
omitted to accommodate a garage door opening:
1. There is a 12'-0" wide by 14'-0" high garage door opening centered on the north and
south ends of the building, respectively.
The interior concrete slab -on -grade floor at 189 Mosher displays differential
movements. I utilized a surveyor's self leveling level to establish the amount of differential
slab displacement.
(2)
The slab is divided with a series of construction joints. Joints running east -to -west
across the building are spaced at 16'-0" on center. There are two (2) north -to -south joints
dividing the slab in that direction into three (3) sections. The center section of slab is
12'-0" wide, and the east and west sections are 9'-0" wide.
The floor slab displays significant differential settlement. The dominant settlement
is down to the north: The floor slab slopes at an average rate of approximately 2.5%
along its 64'-0" length. The secondary settlement is down to the west: While the center
section of slab is generally higher than the slab at the east and west exterior walls, the
settlement to the west is slightly more pronounced. The slab at the northwest corner of
the building has experienced the most settlement. The slab in this corner of the building is
approximately 2'-3" lower than the high point of the floor at the south end of the building.
Note that the differential slab displacement at the perimeter of the building is
directly related to differential settlement of the building's perimeter foundation system: As
the perimeter foundation system has settled, it has pulled the interior floor slab down. The
differential foundation settlement is being caused by the weight of the building and
intermittent, excessive ground moisture. The natural, on sight, soils are fine grained silts
and clays which are prone to settlement when wetted excessively. The building's weight is
also a significant factor contributing to the differential settlements. Note that the building
weight, including the foundation (concrete footing and grade wall), the 16'-0" high pre-
cast wall panels, and the wood framed roof equals approximately 1300 PLF.
At the interior slab construction joints there are a number of locations where the
adjacent slabs are displaced slightly relative to one another. It appears that the interior
slab has suffered a minor amount of frost heave.
The garage door openings on the north and south sides of the building are much
more flexible than the pre -cast wall panels. Consequently, much of the differential
foundation movement is reflected in the noted door openings and framed section of wall:
the door openings and the doors are out of square.
RECOMMENDATIONS
It is my professional opinion that the building, at this time, is in acceptable
structural condition, and is not in danger of sudden collapse. Consequently, temporary
shoring is not recommended at this time.
The building owner, as part of his building maintenance program, should examine
the precast wall panel to foundation wall connection all around the building. He should
verify that continuous bearing of the panel is being maintained at the top of the
(3)
foundation wall and that there is no visible cracking or distress of the precast concrete
where the panels are bolted to the foundation wall.
At present, the surface drainage conditions are contributing to excessive ground
moisture adjacent to the building. The present and natural site drainage is down to the
south towards the Colorado River. Finish grades on the north side of the building and on
the west side of the building should be improved as much as is practicable so as to direct
surface moisture away from the foundation.
The installation of drainage system which directs surface and subsurface water
away from the foundation represents a proven method of mitigating future differential
foundation settlements. In the case of the subject building, as the building owner, you may
wish to consider the installation of a subgrade drainage system along the north, east and
west sides of the building. As part of a building maintenance program, the drainage
system could be installed to intercept and divert surface and near surface water. The
drainage system should include an impervious membrane and a perforated dram pipe with
a gravel and filter fabric surround. The drain pipe should extend well away from the
foundation and carry the excess water away via a solid walled pipe.
Continuous roof gutters are installed on the east and west sides of the building.
Each gutter runs to a downspout at the south end of the building. The downspouts should
be extended so as to deposit roof runoff as far from the building foundation as is
practicable.
If you have any further questions, feel free to call.
Kurtz & Associates, Inc.
Brian J. Kurtz, P.E.