When construction began next door, my biggest worry was noise and disruption. Instead, it’s having to keep repeating “this isn’t your house, this isn’t your issue” as the builders cut corner after corner. After discovering “soft soils” they ran a vibratory compactor back and forth a few times in some of the already-dug foundation trenches, the. proceeded to pump the concrete for the footings. As a geologist who minored in geotechnical engineering, I’m horrified, but… this isn’t my house…
@cassandra17lina erm... aren't you out towards the coast?
@researchbuzz Yup, and our soils - such as they are - are a mix of sand, dredge spoils, and all the other materials nobody else wanted.
@cassandra17lina I am not a geologist, but I've read enough about climate change and changes to coastal groundwater to have an immediate, visceral reaction:
@cassandra17lina is there a way to report that to someone? that's fraud at the very least.
@holon42 I have kept the property owners informed with e-mails, texts, and photos. I don’t know the terms of their contract with the builder. I do know that this builder is notorious for shoddy work (like cutting through our fiber optic cable) and we put the owners in touch with prior clients of this builder who had serious problems. The owners proceeded anyway, because this builder was the low bidder. I can’t save them from their decisions because… you cannot enlighten the unconscious.
Isn't there any municipal agency in charge of preventing building collapses?
@EileenKCarpenter There’s actually a pretty aggressive building code in our county. The bigger driver of outcomes is the BANK that makes the progress payments to the builder. They have more skin in the game than anybody until the mortgage is paid off, and they do NOT like having problems that will result in continuing costs!