Quote:
Originally Posted by leon
Hi Guys,
Now this may seem strange to some, and you may think that I am a bit Sun Struck, but before you race me off to the funny farm, let me explain. 
Do any of you water your piers, well I do periodically.
Hear in Victoria especially, we have had drought for a very long time, it just dosn't rain much at all, and the ground is so dry everything is cracking up, the ground is literally moving, and so will your pier if it is stuck in the ground.
Being covered in an Observatory, and being set in a concrete footing wont help either, it will move as well, as dose the footings of houses when the ground dries up.
So just water your pier, Yep, every couple of weeks collect all the water from the washing machine, an pour it all around your pier, and around the foundations of your Observatory, it will stop any movement, truly. 
Leon  |
Well, as ol' Albert was reputed to have said, "everything is relative." Yes, drying, shrinking subsoils (most specifically clays) will cause footing/foundation movement, over here in SA with "Bay of Biscay" soils in abundance house-cracking is legendary - no-one uses anything but slab/raft foundations anymore: but I guess the question you might hafta ask is - "what was the moisture level
(s) around your pier when you set the alignment?"
The subsoil shrinks and expands constantly, but with (this) extended drought I guess it makes sense to keep a modicum of moisture retention in the surrounds - could suggest other "quick 'n easy" options.....