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FILE No . 988 0525 ' 95 08 44 I D ~ MKAiDENVER 13037930551 PAGE 5 <br />& Associates, Inc. <br />Construction Consultants & Engineers <br />Ms. Ann Tatum <br />Jim Tatum & Assoeiate5 <br />May 23, 2995 <br />Page 4 <br />• We made an attempt to expose a portion of the foundation <br />system by excavating outside the house. Our efforts were <br />thwarted by the presence of numerous, tightly packed rocks <br />below the grade next to the foundation. <br />PRELIMINARY CONCLLi5ION5 <br />The locations, geometry and orientation of the distress within 'the house <br />strongly suggest that the east and south walls are rotating away from the rest <br />of the structural framing. It appears that the foundation systems beneath <br />these two walls have subsided. The magnitude of the subsidence does not <br />appear to be particularly substantial. However, even a fairly subtle <br />movement of the foundation would be magnified in the movements and <br />rotations of the framing and bearing walls above. <br />If the residence was a conventional, wood-framed house, these relatively <br />small movements might have been easily accommodated without significant <br />distress. However, adobe construction is inherently incapable of resisting or <br />accommodating such movements and will, in fact, provide a clear and <br />pronounced manifestation of even minor subsidence. <br />During our site inspection, we did not discern that the current distress is <br />merely the latest manifestation •of a long-term subsidence problem. Rather, <br />the movements and distress appeared to be a fairly recent and isolated <br />occurrence. The building lines and foundations are still relatively square, <br />plumb and true. <br />It is our understanding that the distress within the house began to develop <br />:,hortly after the property was purchased in 1988. Based upon a comparison <br />with other descriptions of distress and photographs taken in 1993, it appears <br />that the movements may have diminished or abated in recent months. <br />We understand that other investigators have concluded that surface <br />movements due to recent coal mine subsidence are a likely reason for much <br />