Martinez Adobe Foundation Rehabilitation

The Martinez adobe was built in 1849 by Vicente Martinez and later sold to Dr. John Strenzel, the father-in-law of John Muir. The structure is like the configuration it was in circa the early 1900s. A two-story porch wraps around the front and south side of the adobe. A single-story wood-frame addition is present on the west side of the adobe. The northeast corner of the original foundation of the Martinez adobe failed, resulting in damage to the structure. The building corner settled, and a crack formed in the corner of the front adobe wall. The foundation was repaired, and the crack was patched, however additional settlement occurred resulting in further disrepair.

Discussions with NPS personnel during a site visit indicated that the settlement appeared to be happening at a relatively constant rate. There had been no observable acceleration and no apparent correlation with seismic events. NPS personnel also stated that the soils they typically encountered in this vicinity consisted of approximately three (3) feet of clay over hard sandstone.

The goal of this project was to rehabilitate the foundation at the north end of the adobe to minimize additional settlement damage to the structure. A geotechnical evaluation of the soils under the structure was needed to better understand what has caused the foundation failure. Due to the sensitivity of this cultural resource, it was necessary for the NPS to gain an understanding of what geotechnical methods for evaluating the site soils were available and the impact each would have on the site.

Services Provided by HECO Engineers:

• Civil engineering
• Geotechnical engineering
• Structural engineering
• Condition assessment
• Project management