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<br />Memo to Susan McCannon <br />Report for Tatums by John D. Reins, P.E. <br />Page 4 <br />~i <br />the wall. It would be interesting to determine when this non-original gutter was <br />removed and whether the leakage problem had been abated." <br />°Site Conditions" <br />Within Mr. Reins' second bullet under this heading, he states; "We made an attempt <br />to expose a portion of the foundation system by excavating outside the house. Our <br />efforts were thwarted by the presence of numerous, tightly packed rocks below the <br />grade next to the foundation." Combined with his earlier statements included within <br />the "Foundations" section of his report, I conclude that MKA, like all previous <br />investigators, could not examine the foundation system beneath the eastern two-story <br />portion of the Tatum's residence. <br />°Preliminary Conclusions" <br />Within the first paragraph of this section Mr. Reins states; "The locations, geometry <br />and orientation of the distress within the house strongly suggest that the east and <br />south walls are rotating away from the rest of the structure." I have previously <br />observed that the upward opening moment of the cracking suggests that the structure <br />is expanding outward. Mr. Reins then concludes; "It appears that the foundation <br />systems beneath these two walls have subsided." I find this to be an unsubstantiated <br />statement. Simple deterioration of the structural adobe walls could account for the <br />observed structural distress and movement. When taken in light of Mr. Reins' prior <br />statements regarding the lack of distress in the western basement walls, the unusual <br />integrity of the stone foundations, and his apparent lack of actual observations of the <br />foundation system beneath the eastern two-story portion of the Tatums' residence, <br />I do not understand what facts or observations his preliminary conclusion might be <br />based upon. <br />Mr. Reins then discusses the fragility of adobe structures in relation to conventional <br />framed construction. Graham McHenry states, on page 137 of his text: "Historically, <br />foundations for earth walls have ranged from none to extremely conservative. An <br />examination of these structures of great age would indicate that the foundation design <br />that was used was based on the technical knowledge of the builder, the importance <br />of the projected life of the building, and the budget. Earth walls appear to have a <br />certain resilience not found in more conventional materials, so the foundation may be <br />of less importance." Mr. Reins' and Mr. McHenry's observations regarding the <br />stress/strain response of adobe walls are significantly inconsistent. <br />