Avoiding soil related issues

[YoungGunner]

Not sure if anyone has heard about this, but in our neck of the woods a couple new homes slide down the hill. Anytime we do a meeting with our insurance agent, scenarios like this come to light where it may not necessarily be the structural engineer's fault, but if they were consulted at any point along the way, they could be at risk for litigation. The homebuilder mentioned that they consulted "design professionals" which could mean their structural engineer among others. The question I pose to everyone - what steps should structural engineers take to avoid being at fault in these kinds of scenarios?

https://www.abc4.com/news/wasatch-f...2-of-its-homes-slide-down-hillside-in-draper/

<<-- comprehensive article outlying the situation

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news...ide-down-hill-draper-utah-videos/11727004002/

<<-- shows the videos of the home moving down the mountain

https://ksltv.com/513382/newly-built-homes-deemed-unlivable-due-to-sliding-soil/

<<-- article from four months ago addressing the sinking

 

[jerseyshore]

I'm sure someone here has experience with a lawsuit related to this, but I imagine it's something like this:

Recommend a geotech is hired, owner says nah, make assumptions, make owner aware of risks involved with assumptions (in writing & on construction documents), foundation issue, lawsuit, structural engineer gets screwed.

OR

Recommend a geotech is hired, owner says OK, design foundation based on geotech report, foundation issue, lawsuit, structural engineer is (slightly less?) screwed.

In my area a lot of people get borings. Some towns even require them for all new houses and big renovations. The problem is just the boring is required (not an engineering report). I get sent these crappy 10' auger bore logs on napkins and get told "here you go, look at those blow counts!". It's very difficult because most of the jersey shore is on bad soil and it's very easy to get a foundation to sink around here. I only just started working on my own and am trying to be very pushy to get a geotechnical report on nearly everything I can. I mean half of my work is inspecting/ repairing sinking structures so I don't want to be the guy who botched the design.

 

[GEE8B]

Simple. Don’t do structural work in the absence of geotechnical recommendations derived from a site-specific subsurface exploration.

In the end, structural will get pulled into the lawsuit regardless. But if there is a geotechnical report, and depending on the nature of the building damage/distress, the structural engineer has a lot less exposure than if there wasn’t a geotechnical report.

 

[phamENG]

In addition to the above, make sure the geotechnical engineer has an opportunity to review and agree to the final foundation design and loading, and that they are hired to check compaction under the footings.

Most geotechnical reports are written in advance of the structural design using assumed loading. Just like we say we're not responsible for foundation problems from assumed capacities, they say they're not responsible for foundation problems from assumed loading. They also say they're not responsible if they aren't given the opportunity to inspect soil prep.

 

[jerseyshore]

If you demand geotech work on every house job you're going to be hard pressed to find work IMO. And I'm saying that as someone who lives in a place where geotech is much more common for residential than most places in the country.

 

[Smoulder]

Contact terms maybe. Structural Engineer under no obligation regarding global slope stability and Owner indemnifies. Check with lawyer if possible. We do this about contamination because we have a department but most structural clients don't pay for them so don't get our insurance either.