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structure was, for the most part, constructed using traditional methods. Our <br />understanding of the traditional system is that an excavation for the foundation was <br />normally made to firm soil. Rock was laid down without any grout to form the basic <br />foundation. The adobe bricks were then placed on top of the rock tooting and mud <br />plaster was used with the traditional adobe brick process. The west end of the structure <br />has a basement which houses the boiler and a laundry area. The basement is relatively <br />small and could have been constructed as an addition at some point in the life of the <br />structure. The foundation walls in the basement were constructed with concrete. <br />Subsoils <br />No excavation was made to determine the specific subsoils supporting the <br />~~Whc structure. However, the soil profile was exposed at several locations in the valley leading <br />to the structure. The building is located on a terrace adjacent to the Purgatorie River. <br />There appears to be at least two terrace levels. The residence and pasture to the south <br />of the residence represent one terrace level and a second level occurs just north of the <br />residence that drops down several feet before reaching the river. Soils exposed in cut <br />banks consisted of 3 ± feet of~tiff red clay over a mixture of sand, gravel and cobble. <br />The gravel and cobble appear to be well rounded. The river bottom appears to be <br />armored with the cobble and gravel. It is likely that shales occur just below the terrace <br />deposit considering the sedimentary rock formations that are exposed up and down the <br />valley. Based on the limited conditions that could be seen in the crawl access from the <br />basement, it appears that the foundations for the structure probably were extended into <br />the red clayey material. It is likely the basement wall extends well into the granular soils. <br />Soils exposed in the road cuts are capable of supporting normal residential <br />foundation toads. The gravel and cobble layer is suitable for support of moderate to <br />heavily loaded foundations./The near-surface clay materials which are probably 3 ± feet <br />thick are more likely to respond to changes in load and environmental conditions. 7 <br />Observations <br />A photographic record of the conditions observed at the time of inspection is <br />included as Appendix I. For purposes of this report assume that the front of the house <br />is the east wall as shown on Fig. 1. Overall drainage in the area is from south to north. <br />The Purgatorie River is located at the edge of a field north of the house. The house is <br />located on a terrace several feet above river level. In the immediate vicinity of the house <br />drainage is not good. The ground is basically flat in the courtyard, the yard to the west <br />of the house and the east yard. There is a very narrow side yard on the north side of <br />the structure that drops rapidly down to the second terrace level north of the house. <br />2 <br />