Effects of Ground Subsidence on a House

Abstract

A one-story ranch house was monitored as it underwent static ground subsidence from longwall coal mining. The unreinforced crawl space foundation failed early in the subsidence event. The foundation was not flexible enough to conform to the ground movements, and not stiff and strong enough to ride out the movements. Minimal superstructure damage occurred, although there were serviceability problems, such as stuck doors. Current construction practice may perform much better if the foundation and superstructure were detailed to perform compositely. This could provide the necessary strength and stiffness, preventing both structural failure and serviceability problems.