Movement in E type soil

[RicEll]

Hi.
I've been told by an engineering consultancy for my structure (about 2 stories high) in E type soil to build it on screw piles so that the structure does not move due to the reactive soil. That got me wondering about the small landscaping around it that is not on screw piles. Such as pavers, pathways, driveways etc. How do pathways etc around buildings that are designed to not move in reactive soil cope when they themselves will move up and down with the soil?
Thanks

 

[ANE91]

Same way a boat manages the ocean — we just let ‘em ride the “waves.” A building is another matter. You don’t want one end to move up or down too much relative to the other end. We call that differential movement, and that’s how you get cracks (or worse). Buildings are a lot heavier than sidewalks.

 

[phamENG]

This can actually be a pretty big issue. I'm familiar with a hotel design built on along a river - it was a fill site. Probably a marsh a long time ago. Building was put on piles, but the site screen walls and paths were not. After about a year, there was a 12" step down from the front door, and all the screen walls were cracking up. They had to go back and demo all of the landscaping structures and put everything on piles.