Thank-you for the help people. I will hire a geotechnical engineer for this project. The site plan is done so he can calculate the footing.
Here in Oregon, the frost depth is 12" and most of our soils out here are a sandy loam topsoil. Two story homes require a 15" wide footing 12" deep on...
I just went through the process that you are describing and ended up using a 80 gallon per minute Gould sump pump that pumps water up 12'. It is top of the line and there are cheaper pumps. It puts out a sheet of water 24" wide by about 1/2" deep and tumbles down a 15' rocked slope that spreads...
Dear Ron:
Thanks for the reply. The owner sees me as the expert since I'm a landscape architect. The soil appears to be normal topsoil with a small percentage of organic material that is visable. 5% organic by weight would be pretty visable with a hand lense since dried wood and bark is light...
I have designed an 8' high, concrete block wind blocking wall for a client on 24" of dark, undistrubed top soil that lays on a damp, gray clay layer. The footing is 4' wide and will go 16" below grade. The footing has all the necessary steel and a building permit has been issued.
I dug down 24"...