Why did a Bartlesville commercial building need piers and floor leveling?

Reviewed by Preston, Oklahoma foundation repair consultant · Updated 2026-10-14

Bartlesville20251-story masonry commercial building (brick and concrete block), flat roof, two unitsConcrete stem walls on continuous footings (assumed) with a concrete floor slab

In short: A two-unit masonry commercial building in Bartlesville had floors sloping up to 3 in., cracked and displaced block on three sides of one unit, and downspouts emptying against the foundation. The engineer found perimeter settlement combined with clay heave of the interior slab and specified 13 steel piers taken to shale or rock, followed by interior piers or foam leveling, leak detection and new gutters ¹.

What did the house show?

• Interior floors out of level, sloping from 1/4 in. to 3 in.; doors had been trimmed to fit ¹.
• On the east unit, cracks of 1/4 to 1 in. and displaced concrete blocks on the south, east and west walls, with soffit trim separations at the southeast and southwest corners ¹.
• Incomplete, rusted guttering, with downspouts discharging directly against the foundation; spalled curbs and an aged roof ¹.

What did the engineer find was causing it?

The engineer separated two mechanisms. The perimeter of the east unit had settled on its south, east and west sides. The interior slab, by contrast, had heaved from clay expansion and contraction, with groundwater, poor drainage and a sloped or filled lot as contributors, and the report noted that plumbing leaks are commonly the cause of slab heave. The report stated that "in most foundation settlement problems water is a significant contributing factor" ¹.

What repair was specified?

1. 13 steel piers on the south, east and west sides of the east unit, per the engineer's sketch. Caulking between veneer and windows was to be removed before lifting ¹.
2. Piers driven deep enough to reach bedrock, blue or gray shale, or dense unweathered stone. The engineer recommended inspecting the installation and the excavations before backfill, required engineer approval for any changes, and asked the contractor to submit its piering proposal at least one week before construction ¹.
3. After the perimeter work, interior piers and/or foam injection to level the floors ¹.
4. A leak-detection test of sewer, supply lines and shower pans; a new roof; repair of spalled concrete; and a new gutter system with downspout extensions ¹.

The repair contractor's piering sketch for the building also called for 13 piers ¹.

What does this case show about Oklahoma foundations?

A single building can show both heave and settlement. Here the engineer ordered the work so the settled perimeter was piered first and the heaved interior was leveled afterward ¹.

The water items are not cosmetic. Federal building-science guidance notes that a few inches of rain on a roof can produce thousands of gallons of runoff, and recommends downspouts discharge at least 5 ft from the foundation with the ground sloping away at least 1/2 in. per foot for 10 ft, because water pooled near a house can damage foundations on expansive soils ². On this building every downspout emptied at the wall ¹.

The project record lists the Bates series mapped over alluvium in the area ¹. USDA describes Bates as a moderately deep soil over Pennsylvanian sandstone with thin shale beds, with the soft rock contact typically 20 to 40 in. down ³. The engineer also noted a sloped or filled lot, and set the pier termination by bearing material (shale or unweathered stone) rather than by a fixed depth ¹.

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• Heave vs Settlement
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• Plumbing Leaks Under Slab
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