in my lil' ole city of Oceanside....six homes are falling down the bluff. They say it's from the rain, but they are also saying that the city failed to make full disclosure in saying that there are pockets of methane gas underneath the homes. Most of the homeowners have only owned for a few years. Insurance doesn't cover it.

Pockets of methane eh. That doesn't quit sound right to me. I don't recall where you live but I haven't heard of anything like that before. Are these homes on the side of the hill or valley? and how large is the drop? has there been recent construction in the area?

You saying that these houses are fairly new leads me to theorize that there was a thixotropic layer of soil under those houses. What that means is basically a layer of soil that has liquified under pressure from above or from the shock and vibrations caused by nearby construction. A simple example would be a bottle of ketchup. You can put objects on it and it may seem solid, but shake the bottle and the object will sink. It's pretty common for this to happen and also hard to predict. Any heavy rains that have occured recently only add to the soil moisture allowing it the ability to slide even easier.

Pockets of methane eh. That doesn't quit sound right to me. I don't recall where you live but I haven't heard of anything like that before. Are these homes on the side of the hill or valley? and how large is the drop? has there been recent construction in the area?

You saying that these houses are fairly new leads me to theorize that there was a thixotropic layer of soil under those houses. What that means is basically a layer of soil that has liquified under pressure from above or from the shock and vibrations caused by nearby construction. A simple example would be a bottle of ketchup. You can put objects on it and it may seem solid, but shake the bottle and the object will sink. It's pretty common for this to happen and also hard to predict. Any heavy rains that have occured recently only add to the soil moisture allowing it the ability to slide even easier.

I almost thought this was one of your BS "I can make **** up and people think I'm smart" deals....... but then I remembered you actually study this stuff in school.

The homes aren't new...the owners are. The homes are over 20 years old. At least that's what they reported on the news today. No construction in the area that I'm aware of. The homes down below are in danger of being toppled on and I don't know how high the bluffs are. It's not in the paper yet...waiting for it then I can link it.

The homes are on the top of a bluff.....I'm so glad we never bought at the top or at the bottom. The worst danger we face is Camp Pendleton missing while bombing and fire. We aren't even in what they call the 'flood plain' , but we're next to it.

What does "thixotropic" mean?

What does "thixotropic" mean?


thixotropic

1. adj. [Drilling Fluids] ID: 2373

Pertaining to the ability of a fluid, such as cement or drilling mud, to develop gel strength over time when not subject to shearing, and then to liquefy when agitated.

See: thixotropy

Oh yeah...I'm in Oceanside, CA. South of Los Angles, North of San Diego...actually, right smack in the middle. Along the coast....just for good measure. ;-)

Well in that case it just sounds like soil saturation. I've never heard of methane pockets affecting anything like that other than surface collapses from subsurface water removal to process methane from coalbeds but that's only in mined areas. If you get a link I would be interested in reading it because I don't believe their story right now.

Well in that case it just sounds like soil saturation. I've never heard of methane pockets affecting anything like that other than surface collapses from subsurface water removal to process methane from coalbeds but that's only in mined areas. If you get a link I would be interested in reading it because I don't believe their story right now.


Will do. I only put what they reported on the news tonight. There's supposed to be a city meeting tonight....