Articles By Category

Accepted Engineering Guidelines & Practices

What Is An Engineering Standard?

Slab Foundation Warranties

Determinate Versus Indeterminate Structures

A Short History of Houston Residential Foundation Design & Construction

Accepted Industry Practices Regarding Slab Foundation Performance

Guidelines For The Evaluation & Repair Of Residential Foundations

The Texas Board of Professional Engineers – What They Require

TREC

Slab Performance and the TREC SOP

Current TREC Requirements Regarding Slab Foundations

Why Inspectors Should Stay Away From The Repair Question

More On TREC & Foundation Performance

Slab Foundation Performance

Slab Foundation Performance & Brick Tie Failure

Slab Foundation Performance & Brick Veneer Arches

Slab Foundation Performance & Cornice Distortion

Slab Foundation Performance & Door Frame Distortion

Slab Foundation Performance & Fire

Slab Foundation Performance & Fireplace Chimney Rotation

Slab Foundation Performance & Levelness

Slab Foundation Performance & Vertical Brick Veneer Joints

Miscellaneous Articles

Add-On Slab Foundations

Slab-On-Ground Foundations: The Relation Of Analysis / Design To Performance Assessment

Common Misunderstandings About Newly Placed Slab Foundations

Creep – What Is It & Why Is It Important?

How High Ceilings Cause Distress In Adjoining Walls

Do Floods Affect Slab-On-Ground Foundations?

Do Slab Foundations Have A Future in Houston?

Glossary Of Slab Foundation Terms

Hard Cases

HCAD & Slab Foundations

The Many Meanings Of Structural

Honeycombed Slabs

How To Respond To An Unhappy Client

Why Some Engineers Describe Their Reports As Preliminary

Options For Improving Foundation Performance

Oyster Shell Concrete Slab Foundations

Performance Indicators Versus Repair Indicators

Pier-Supported Slab Foundations

Post-Tensioned Slabs Versus Conventionally Reinforced Slabs

Reasonableness

The Marble Test

Wing Walls

Would You Buy This House?

Slab Foundation Repair

Builder Piers Versus Repair Piles/Piers

Expectations Of Underpinning

Determinate Versus Indeterminate Structures

How Slab Repair Contractors Cheat

Slab Foundation Second Opinion Triggers

Why Foundation Repair Contractors Do Not Actually Repair Foundations

Slab Foundation Performance Reports

Checklist Reports, Engineering Judgment & The Texas Board Of Professional Engineers

Common Problems With Foundation Reports

Engineering Repair Certifications

How & How Not To Craft A Foundation Performance Opinion

How An Engineering Slab Foundation Report Can Save Your Seller Money & Time

Questions Every Slab Foundation Performance Report Should Address

Concrete

Concrete As A Structural Material

Concrete Repair For Post-Tensioned Slabs

Exposed Cable Ends

Conventionally Reinforced Slab Concrete Repair

How Corner Cracks Are Repaired

Cracks & Separations

Creep – What Is It & Why Is It Important?

Current TREC Requirements Regarding Slab Foundations

Determinate Versus Indeterminate Structures

Problems With Concrete Beam Calculations

Repairing Corner Cracks In Slab Foundations

Repairing Horizontal Cracks In Slab Foundations

How Corner Cracks Are Repaired

Slab-on-Ground Foundations & Concrete Repair

Diagnosing Distress

Diagnosing Drywall Cracks

Diagnosing Brick Veneer Cracking

Diagnosing Concrete Cracks

Diagnosing Cracks In Ceiling Drywall

Diagnosing Cracks In Floor Tile

Diagnosing Floor Tiles Sounding Hollow

Diagnosing Door Issues

Diagnosing Downstairs Floor Slopes

Fractured Brick

Distress Commonly Assumed (incorrectly) To Be Due To Foundation Movement

Selling Foundation Repair

Fix-It Right, Fix-It For Good: Is Slab Foundation Repair Permanent?

Floor Slopes Versus Tilt Versus Deflection

Foundation Repair Contractor Ads

Foundation Repair Contracts

Slab Foundation Warranties

How Foundation Repair Is Sold

Piers, Piles, Perma This, and Cable That

How An Engineering Slab Foundation Report Can Save Your Seller Money & Time

How Can You Investigate  A Slab Foundation When You Can See Only A Small Portion?

Questions & Answers

How Far Out-Of-Level Is A Slab Foundation Allowed To Be?

How Reliable Are Deflection Calculations?

How Important Is Deflection To Foundation Performance?

What Is A Drywall Stress Mark?

What is Edge Wear?

What Is A Structural Engineer Of Record?

What is a Structural Engineer?

What Is The Best House To Buy Foundation Wise?

What’s Wrong With This Picture?

What Is A Cracked Slab?

What Are Lintel Cracks?

What Causes Horizontal Cracks In Slab Foundations?

What Constitutes Positive Drainage?

When Is Foundation Repair Warranted?

When Should A Slab-On-Ground Foundation Be Leveled Or Underpinned?

When Should The Cables Be Stressed?

Where Are The Expansive Soils?

Why Are Post-Tensioned Slabs So Popular?

What Engineers Bring to a Transaction

What Makes Foundation Reports Different

What Makes A Slab Crack Structurally Significant?

Why Bare Ground Is A Problem For Slab Foundations

Why Foundation Repair Contractors Do Not Repair Slab Foundations

Why Inspectors Should Stay Away From The Repair Question

Why Stiffer Foundations Have Higher Elevation Differences

Why Today’s Slab Foundations Are So Much Better Than Earlier Slabs

Why Trees & Slab-on-Ground Foundations Do Not Get Along

Why Would An Engineer Design & Seal A Minimal Slab Foundation?

Why You Want To Avoid Foundation Repair

How Moisture Makes Clay Soils Swell

How Slab Foundations Are Lifted

How Slab-On-Ground Foundations Work

How The Shape Of A Slab Affects Performance

How TREC Inspectors Fail To Craft A Foundation Performance Opinion

How You Can Repair Concrete Cracks Using Epoxy Injection

Important Things To Keep In Mind

Inspections & Investigations

Judging The Competency Of A Foundation Repair Contractor 1

Lifting An Entire House

Elevation Measurements

What The Army Corps Of Engineers Say About Elevation Measurements

What The Texas Section ASCE Says About Elevation Measurements

 

Maintaining Slab Foundations 

Maintenance of Slab Foundations: Introduction

Maintenance Of Slab Foundations: Existing Foundations

Maintenance of Slab Foundations: New Construction 

Managing Expectations

Modern Slab on Ground Design & Construction

Options For Improving Foundation Performance

Oyster Shell Concrete Slab Foundations

Performance Indicators Versus Repair Indicators

Pier-Supported Slab Foundations

Post-Tensioned Slabs Versus Conventionally Reinforced Slabs

Problems With Concrete Beam Calculations

Questions Every Slab Foundation Performance Report Should Address

Roof Gutters & Slab Foundations

Roofs & Foundation Repair

Rotating & Deflecting Brick Veneer

Segmented Piles Versus Bell-Bottom Piers

Selecting An Engineer

Should TREC Inspectors Make Elevation Measurements?

Since You Can’t See The Slab, How Can You Inspect It?

Slab Foundation Distortion Modes

Slab Foundation Distortion Modes

What You Need To Know About The Center Lift Distortion Mode

What You Need To Know About The Edge Lift Distortion Mode

Slab Foundation Performance

Slab Foundation Performance & Brick Tie Failure

Slab Foundation Performance & Brick Veneer Arches

Slab Foundation Performance & Cornice Distortion

Slab Foundation Performance & Door Frame Distortion

Slab Foundation Performance & Fire

Slab Foundation Performance & Fireplace Chimney Rotation

Slab Foundation Performance & Levelness

Slab Foundation Performance & Vertical Brick Veneer Joints

Slab Foundation Repair and The Lure Of Magical Thinking

Slab Foundation Repair: Why It Should Be Rare

Slab Foundation Repair Complaints

How Engineers View Foundation Performance

Slab Foundation Second Opinion Triggers

Slab Foundations & ….

Slab Foundations & Floor Tile

Slab Foundations & Swimming Pools

Slab Foundations & Tented Tiles

Slab Foundations & Underground Drainage

Slab Foundation Repair: Why It Should Be Rare

Slab-On-Ground Foundations: The Relation Of Analysis / Design To Performance Assessment

Standard Industry Practices Related To Foundation Movement

The Foundation Repair Perspective Versus The Engineering Perspective

The Many Meanings Of Structural

The Misuse of 1/360

The Most Common Misconceptions About Slab-On-Ground Foundations

The Structural Significance Of Elevation Differences 

The Post-Tensioning-Institute & Slab Foundation Performance

The TREC Definition of Performance in the TREC SOP

The Unvarnished Truth About Floor Slopes & Foundation Levelness

Three Errors Real Estate Agents Make

To Tunnel Or To Not Tunnel

The Tyranny Of (Engineering) Metrics

TREC Speaks Out On Foundation Performance

Trees & Slab-on-Ground Foundations

Tunneling Under Slab Foundations

Two Types of Errors TREC Inspectors Make

Under Slab Plumbing Leaks & Foundation Performance

Understanding The Structural Design Model For Slab Foundations In Expansive Soils

US Army Corps of Engineers and Slab Foundation Performance

What TREC Inspectors Are Not Allowed To Do Regarding Slab Foundations

What To Do If The House Is Unsafe

What You Need To Know About…

What You Need To Know About Corner Cracks

What You Need To Know About Elevation Measurements

What You Need To Know About Slab Clearance

Books, Articles & Blogs 

Foundation Behavior & Repair, Third Edition, Robert Wade Brown 

 

 

 

 

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