Well the new pilings are planned to go all the way down to bedrock, so the soil in between the surface and bedrock shouldn’t affect them. They don’t depend on friction with the various soils to support the weight of the building. But another problem is that all of the new pilings are around the perimeter of the building rather than underneath it. And the foundation of the building is designed to be supported on a large number of pilings beneath the building rather than just at it’s edge. It’s kind of like a cardboard box full of books that has the bottom just folded over rather than taped. You have to pick it up from the bottom, not just the sides. I’m not convinced that exactly how well the existing piles will support the “bottom of the box” is knowable, so it’s going to be difficult to determine how much stress that the buildings structure was not designed for will exist when the external piles are tied into it. So even if the pilings successfully stop the building from tilting further, it will be important to inspect the foundation regularly for cracks that might indicate the the center of the building was still sinking even if the edge wasn’t. And that will have to continue for the life of the building.
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