Ignorance of land type puts real estate at risk

Mexico, Oct. 15 (Notimex) - After conducting a study on the type of soil, the academic of the Autonomous University of Queretaro (UAQ, for its acronym in Spanish), Eduardo Rojas Gonzalez, proposed to incorporate the figure of Geotechnical Expert in the Construction Regulations of the State of Queretaro, where there is a growth of social interest housing. The researcher said it is necessary to have better construction procedures, more efficient methods of foundation and analyze the consequences of not making an appropriate design of the process in the structures, which can cause the buildings to present cracks, fissures and fractures. In a statement, the UAQ reported that for this work, Rojas Gonzalez, under the Faculty of Engineering, won the Alexandrian Award 2018, given by this institution in the category of Natural and Exact Sciences. He pointed out that several construction companies that come to the entity do not know the characteristics of the ground and, therefore, some housing projects have problems in their structure. He also considered that it is necessary for companies to have advice and studies of soil mechanics, since it is common that structures such as houses of social interest have defects. This puts the inhabitants at a disadvantage, since currently the guarantee of real estate its only for one year and, for various reasons, should be extended to at least 10 years. For example, it indicated that expansive soils have a volcanic origin, so the eruptions of the Cimatario volcano that covered the valley of Queretaro with ashes and magma, with the passage of time and weathering (chemical transformation of rocks in the soil) gave rise to the formation of this type of soil. It pointed out that there are also collapsible soils, which are mainly in slopes and hills of the Queretana zone and are due to a very loose accommodation of soil particles. "If we build on that soil, when it is dry it is hard, the structures do not present any problem. But if there is a significant amount of rain or a leak of water, it gets wet, then a collapse occurs, which translates into a sudden settlement of the structure; on the other hand, the expansive has a dilatation behavior, that pushes the structure upward," it explained. For this reason, it is necessary that the Construction Regulations of the State of Queretaro recognize the figure of Geotechnical Expert, as it exists in Mexico City for 18 years, which is responsible for the good behavior of the foundation of the structures during its time of guarantee. "What we are proposing is that Geotechnical Experts be graduated from a master's degree in Soil Mechanics that has sufficient knowledge to make a design that is efficient, economical and safe for problematic soils," it emphasized. NTX/DGG/LCH/PAP