Forensic Engineering in Austin, TX

Austin's forensic cases sort by geology. East of the fault zone, the docket looks like the rest of expansive-clay Texas: slabs heaving and settling as Taylor clay cycles moisture. West of it, the failures are different, foundations bearing partly on rock and partly on clay seams, movement over undetected karst features, retaining walls in cut limestone. The investigation adapts to the setting: floor elevation surveys map the movement, cores per ASTM C42 document the structure, borings establish what is actually below, and petrographic examination per ASTM C856 answers concrete-specific questions. Evidence is maintained under chain of custody, and licensed engineers are engaged for evaluation and testimony.

Mixed bearing, part of a foundation on limestone and part on clay or fill, is a distinctly Austin failure mode along the fault zone, and it produces sharp differential movement that neither pure-clay nor pure-rock experience predicts.

• Concrete distress investigation: cracking, scaling, spalling, low strength results
• Core sampling and testing of hardened concrete per ASTM C42
• Petrographic examination of hardened concrete per ASTM C856
• Foundation and pavement performance investigations
• Documented chain of custody and photo documentation built for litigation

ASTM C42ASTM C856ASTM C39