Footing placed on creek bed!

[Inspector807]

Is it possible to design a footing on a filled lot that used to be a creek bed but was diverted to be able to fill the area and build houses there, without having soil tests done, a local engineer has done this and i was curious if this was common, a lot up the street was tested about 3yrs ago and found that a great deal of removal of the fill had to be done and many other things had to be done before the lot could be built on, and now a builder has built on a lot in this same area, without getting any testing. He poured his footing without the approval of the building dept because he said an engineer told him what he was doing was fine ( but the engineer did not provide a letter of his approval to us)but did tell the building official it would be ok,the ditch was 3' wide has 12"s of concrete 4"s under grade and 2 #4's on chairs in the center of the ditch ( the engineer did not ask for rebar) any help understanding why he was not required to find out in more detail what he was building on top of before he continued and is it better to leave the fill undesturbed instead of digging it out?

 

[austim]

Inspector807,

You have my genuine sympathy. You appear to be having to deal with several problems which arise from unprofessional behaviour - so far you have told us of some very dodgy building work, a dodgy buiding officer approving it, and now you have a dodgy engineer who has not committed his 'decisions' to writing.

Yes, it is possible to 'design' a footing on fill without tests - your engineer may have done just that. (Or the builder may have proceeded without an engineered design ?). But it is not good practice, and the likelihood of future excessive settlements must be quite high.

I would recommend that you keep insisting on proper documentation for all of this (including an engineer's report for the slab corrections).

 

[Trussdoc]

Inspector 807 is to be commended for being concerned about this project and the owner's investment. Having testified in court in a case somewhat like this, its my opinion that the builder deserves no sympathy whatsoever for being unwilling to part with some money for a geotechnical evaluation. Given the history in the area, if deep excavation was required, someone had better confirm that whatever has been done at the location in question is adequate.

If I were a building official, I would permit no further construction until this was resolved!

"A verbal opinion ain't worth the paper its written on"

 

[Inspector807]

Thanks Trussdoc but i do not feel i need to be commended i was not able to over rule the building official on this occasion the whole situation was literally handled over the phone, and my concerns were not acknowledged as being valid, so builder 1 future owner 0, its amazes me how many "SITUATIONS" are resolved in the good ole boy fashion on the phone, as far as the engineer goes that went along with this there is nothing to tie him to this situation other than the building official saying he spoke to him on the phone , i feel if the engineer felt so strongly that everything was going to be fine he should have submitted a design of what the builder did with his stamp on it. Thanks for your help i'll take all i can get.