Observed Distress
Movements of the piers and structural floors of the building were
initially observed in late 1992 during construction. In 1993,
additional
distress and cracking of the building was observed with
moisture being evident in the crawl space. In January 1998,
elevation survey measurements were made.
The maximum pier heave measured at that time was 280 mm (11 in.).
Most of the building movement occurred in the west half of the building, particularly in
the southwest corner. The differential movements along with the
dip of the bedrock caused large lateral forces to be applied to
the piers. Some of the piers had undergone large heave and experienced
shear failure. Fig. 5 shows shear failure of a pier at the site
in January 1998.