Case Studies
Field Brook Apartments
Situation: Jim Roberson, Ram Jack in Dallas/Fort Worth was originally called in
to inspect a three-story apartment structure in October 2005. At that
time, the building had settled four and one-half inches on one end. Jim
noted large cracks in the exterior brickwork as well as noticeable sloping
of the floors. The Dallas/Fort Worth area has extremely volatile soil
conditions, with expansive clays that are extremely sensitive to variations
in climate and moisture levels. The settlement was attributed to the ongoing
drought conditions in the area. One year later, on October 3, 2006, the
property managers as well as the regional supervisor from the management
company frantically summoned Jim again, pleading for his assistance in
re-evaluating the building. Overnight, the building had sunk an additional
two inches, pulling the structure away from the adjacent building and
causing the third story breezeway to completely separate from the building.
The tenants were stranded in their third story apartments and the building
had to be evacuated through their windows by way of ladders. Jim’s
new set of elevations revealed the fact that the building had, in fact,
settled a total of six and one-half inches. Ram Jack’s production
department scrambled to reschedule some jobs and had a crew on the scene
Thursday, October 6.
Solution: Ram Jack of Texas installed a total of 20 exterior steel piers and 17
interior piers, and was able to lift the building a total of 5.2 inches.
The management company (and the third floor residents, of course!) were
thrilled with the recovery as the building was rendered habitable once
again in such a short period of time, and with little disruption to the
surrounding residents.
Conclusion: Field Brook Apartments represents a textbook example of the devastating
effects that long-term drought situations can have on a structure. If
drought situations are prevalent in YOUR area, give the experts at Ram
Jack a call today!
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