It goes to show we don't need to be so darn conservative when designing foundations. I'd bet this one well stand well beyond the lives of all the members here and with full occupancy.
Why jack it up? Do like in Mexico City. Just install new entry ways in the second floor so that no one is trapped inside when current doors won't open due to earth there. Should cost less.
Rather than make fun of the situation I am more interested in finding out what led to the mistake so that others may not make the same. This is a serious situation I am sure not one of us would want to be in. Any leads on this?
I know next-to-nothing about civil/geotech, but is grouting an option on something this big to at least stabilize and stop further sinking? Wow, what a nightmare. I'd hate to think what a seismic event would do this site.
It is better to have enough ideas for some of them to be wrong, than to be always right by having no ideas at all.
Could the right "seismic event" cause liquifaction of the underlying sand and cause a rapid decline in building stability, or are the underlying ground specifics not appropriate for such a reaction?
Could it be that the higher ups wanted to cut cost, opting for foundation slab with piles not going all the way down to bed rock and the structural engineers come up with calculation based on ideal case to justify decision without sufficient core bore data?
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