Recommended references for expanding clay soils

[cobadger]

Does anybody have any recommended references for foundation design with expanding clay type soils? The design I am working on is residential. Any thoughts regarding design in this type of soil would also be appreciated.

thank you,
Alex

 

[JedClampett]

Your Geotechnical Engineer should be giving you recommendations. If he hasn't, get him to suggest some methods to mitigate the expansive clays. If you don't have a project Geotechnical Engineer, get one.
You're better off paying a soils engineer now than having a couple of hundred unhappy homeowners litigating this.

 

[JAE]

A design methodology was developed by the Concrete Reinforcing Institute in conjunction with The Wire Reinforcing Institute. It was prepared by Walter L. Snowden, P.E. in Austin, Texas back in the 70's (I think).

I have the document which is titled "Design of Slab-on-Ground Foundations, A Design, Construction, and Inspection Aid for Consulting Engineers", dated August, 1981. I would hope that there are copies available through a search on the internet.

Also - through a previous post - check out the following:

http://books.nap.edu/books/NI000261/html/1.html

Criteria for Selection and Design of Residential Slabs-on-Ground (1968) (downloadable with Design Tables etc)

Here are some similar threads for reference:

thread256-6848
thread256-15722

 

[cobadger]

I appreciate the advice and references. I have an independant geotech advisor/friend, who hopefully can give me a second opinion regarding the first geotech's soils report. Thanks for this advice.

 

[BigH]

I did a search a few times on this - I remember that the ASCE chapter in Texas put out a fairly extensive tome on residential foundations for Texas - and of course, they have that expansive stuff there. You might try to search for it. If I can find it in my quagmire of files, I'll put on the URL.

 

[BigH]

Check out:

http://www.texasce.org/docs/DesignFinalDraft.pdf

 

[apetr26542]

Try the Army Corp of Engineers -

http://www.army.mil/usapa/eng/DR_pubs/dr_a/pdf/tm5_818_7.pdf