GREAT WALLS OF PULTE
No City Permits,
No City Inspections
Foundation? What Foundation?
Let's Try a Little Rope
Look close, see rope tying blocks together
Wall #1 Excavation Saturday 3-3-12
NO FOUNDATION
Wall Movement Excavation #1
There are 31 cracked blocks
within a 45 foot wide span of wall.
Wall #2 Excavation Sunday 3-4-12
Cracks
Wall #2
Fairhaven Retaining Walls
According to a Technical Bulletin from the city of Arlington, any wall with a
developed height above four feet requires a city permit. Schertz City ManagerJohn Kessel worked in
Arlington before he went to McKinney as city engineer. On Chris
D.Hilton's website, www.chrisdhilton.com,
( he is a certified home inspector), "almost any crack in a
free standing retaining wall should cause alarm." In house #1 the back
yard there are 31 cracked blocks within a 45 foot wide span of wall. Gaps
in the wall are up to .33" between blocks and "V"-shaped
vertical gaps.
When Chris Hilton is talking about blocks and
foundations, he says, " Cracks from 1/8" to 1/4" are of more
concern, but if they are not dynamic, they may not need repair. Cracks of
1/4 inch or over should be inspected by a structural engineer, if the
cracks are dynamic or not. If a crack has opened up to 1/4" or more,
this is indicative of possible major failure at the footing. A crack with
inconsistent width (one end open wider than the other ) is cause for concern.
If a vertical crack is opening up in a V shape, being wider at either the
top or the bottom, this is a sign of a major settlement problem".
Lastly, under the heading "Dynamics", he says," If the blocks
are moving in any direction, you need help. If the movement is
differential, moving out instead of apart, be alarmed. If both are
occurring, be more alarmed."
Also, on National Concrete Masonry Association
Technical paper, TEK 15-5B (Structural) of 2010, "Although wall heights up
to 8 feet for conventional (gravity) walls ad 14 feet for soil-reinforced walls
are presented, properly engineered walls can exceed those heights. " In
Fairhaven we have many retaining walls which exceed those heights, reaching up
to 36 courses of eight inches per course.
Lastly, the retaining walls in Fairhaven
attain heights up to 24 feet 4 inches, with no foundation under them, and to
our knowledge, no drainage inherent in the structure. If proper drainage were
present, water would not be soaking and running through neighbors yard after a
rain. Additionally, the homeowner who took pictures in November 2008 said
he saw no evidence of a drain system in the construction of the wall on Storm
King and he documented the entire construction process.
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