Vantage
ENGINEERING
AND CONSTRUCTION, INC.
June 28, 2002
Ms Cynthia Clayton
Condotel Corporation
Dear Ms Clayton:
Reference is made to our inspections at Whispering Bluff
Condominiums as you requested. The purpose of the inspections was to assess the
structural integrity of the condos, with particular emphasis to the foundation
system.
GENERAL: The Whispering Bluff Condominiums consists of eight separate buildings of varying
sizes. The structures are two story, wood framed, wood sided, pitched metal
roofs, with post/beam raised wood floor system. The condos are approximately 30
years old. Landscaping is mature. Soil samples were analyzed, but not taken to
a lab for formal analysis.
OBSERVATIONS: Several of the units in Building I and Building 4 have difficulties opening and closing the front door. Just inside the front door, the floor seems to slope
downhill as you travel into the unit
for approximately 8. The wall between the restroom and the entry area contains a door and
door frame that is racked out-of-square.
Additionally, there is evidence
of past sheetrock cracks and repairs at the head of this
restroom door.
At Building 6, there
is a separation in the north exterior wall where a crack has opened from near the front deck up to the roof line. This crack is less than W at
the bottom, but approximately
3 wide at the top. Also some loose
floor tile is reported in the unit
immediately adjacent to this
separation on the west.
The crawl spaces
of all three buildings were inspected.
The construction seems to be of generally good quality. Elevations of the bottom of
the floor joists were made, at
Unit 102, and we discovered that
the floor joists were generally
level from the back wall to within
approximately W from the front wall. At that point, the floor
joists are turned longitudinal and then slope up and over the
front foundation wall and cantilever out to the front deck. The slope in the floor joists obviously is the reason for the sloping floor as you enter the front door of the unit, and measures approximately 2 of deviation in 8. We now believe that long
term saturations of the
foundation bearing soils along the
front wall, which contain some
moisture sensitive clay,
has slowly heaved the foundation and thus raised the floor joists in this immediate area. This would explain the
sloping floor, and the restroom
door frame, and the stress cracks above
the restroom door, as well as some
minor stress cracks in walls further
into some of the units. The
differential movement along this
front foundation wall further creates problems with opening and closing the front entry door. We believe the
over saturation of the foundation soils clearly is due to uncontrolled surface water from the asphalt parking lot that drains toward Buildings 1,4 and 6, and ponds
adjacent to the foundation.
There is evidence that some preventative measures were made during the original
construction to control this runoff, but soil has washed in over the years and changed the terrain. Further, there is substantial rain runoff from the roofs that drain and pond adjacent to the front foundation wall.
The configuration
of Buildings 1 and 4 with the property and parking lot causes the entire front foundation wall
to be affected and generally the
entire front foundation heaves and
creates the sloping floors. However, at Building 6, the excessive moisture
seems to be directed and concentrated
at an inside corner of the front
wall, which is directly below the large separation that has
occurred in this building. The swell of
the foundation in this immediate area has lifted the structure (primarily in just this one area) and caused the
separation to occur.
We further notice that some of the wood support columns at the back
outside balcony are loose, deteriorated, and unsupported and need some general maintenance. This is not related to the foundation issue.
RECOMMENDATIONS: The excessive surface water and rain runoff from the roofs must be controlled and prevented from flooding the foundation area. We recommend
installing a 6 high concrete curb in front of the existing cross ties that would catch and divert the surface water towards the ends of Buildings 1, 4 and 6. The steps will need to be
modified such that they travel up and over this new concrete
curb. The anticipated Cost for this
concrete curb work is approximately
$4,000.00.
The rain runoff from the roofs should be collected by the use of gutters and downspouts. The downspouts should
discharge into a large PVC collector
below the front deck and then discharged around the ends of the buildings. The
anticipated expense for this work is approximately $6,000.00 to $8,000.00.
When the wood
decks are replaced the soil below the
decks should be graded to slope away from the foundation wall, and
rocks and debris cleaned out.
All of the above
items will slowly begin to allow the foundation to relax back to it original position, but this may be over a period of several
years. Obviously this doesnt answer
the immediate complaint of sticking doors, sloping floors and cracked walls. To help with this issue, we propose to
install some shoring under the longitudinal front floor joists and slightly
raise this area of floor so that
it is not obvious. Also, we could shim
and/or adjust the front doors to function properly. The anticipated
expense for this work is approximately $4,000.00 to $6,000.00.
CONLUSIONS: We believe the Whispering Bluff Condos to be in generally good condition and well built. If the excessive water is remedied, the foundation issues will become of little concern.
We do not warrant
against conditions that may be
concealed or undisclosed, if any, and make no expressed or implied opinions other than those specifically stated above.
Should you have questions or comments, please do not hesitate
to call.
Very truly,
ENGJNEERING & CONSTRUCTION, INC.
P. 0.