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During construction of the last of four multi-million-dollar
residences in an exclusive neighborhood in the Oakland Hills, two landslides
occurred downhill from this last residence.
Closer inspection showed that the house had settled differentially 3
inches; its walls were cracked throughout; and, the entire soil mass on which
it was built appeared to be moving.
We investigated this loss and determined that numerous
construction defects had lead to the present situation: the subsurface drainage
functioned improperly; the storm drain beneath the street sloped uphill and
filled with silt thus rendering it ineffective; the soil mass was an old
landslide that had not been repaired correctly; and the piers beneath the
residence did not extend into bedrock.
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