Creep is a type of mass wasting event, in which the ground freezes and unfreezes, causing the foundation below to be pulled apart. It can cause substantial structural and monetary damage, although it takes place over a long period of time and is not sudden.
“Mass wasting is the movement of material downhill because of gravity,” Anne Henry, a Geology professor at Sinclair Community College said. “Creep is just about the slowest example of that. Creep is a particle-by-particle motion; it’s typically seasonal and it’s very common in the temperance zones. It has a lot to do with freeze and thaw cycles. Essentially what happens is when water freezes it expands, and you have water in the soil, in the wintertime it freezes and it pushes the soil up, when that thaws, it pushes the soil back down, so over the course of time the up-and-down motion causes it to move downhill.”
Sinclair sits near the Great Miami River on a slight slope slanting toward Fourth Street. There is evidence of creeping at Sinclair, and it can be found in the basement between Buildings 1 and 2.
“Sinclair is sitting on sediment; a lot of sand, gravel, silt that was left here by the glaciers. It’s also sitting on a lot of materials left here by river deposition. This
material does produce some nice soil, but being this close to the river, it’s full of water. The ground underneath campus is typically wet,” she said. “[In] Wintertime, you get cycles of freezing and thawing, and that causes the ground to lift and sink seasonally.”
“Sinclair is sitting on sediment; a lot of sand, gravel, silt that was left here by the glaciers. It’s also sitting on a lot of materials left here by river deposition This material does produce some nice soil, but being this close to the river, it’s full of water. The ground underneath campus is typically wet,” she said. “Wintertime, you get cycles of freezing and thawing, and that causes the ground to lift and sink seasonally.”
She adds that creep can occur on slopes that are less than five degrees, and the movement is so slow that it typically goes unnoticed unless serious damaged has already occurred.
“What has been happening over the course of time under Buildings 1 and 2 … it’s pulling Building 2 slowly toward Fourth Street, so it’s starting to pull away from Building 1 and that’s putting a stress on a connection between the two buildings, and that’s in part why the wall in the basement is cracking,” she said. “We’ve been watching that crack ourselves [for 20 years] and it gets a little bit worse every year. [However], you have to remember that it’s taken at least 40 years to get to where it is now.”
The crack is evidence of tension caused by creep in the bricks. She added that bricks can take structural stress, and that the area showing evidence of creep is a better-structured area on campus because it is in a stairwell, and those are typically built more sound than other areas.
“I’m not expecting anything to be serious to a point where we need to immediately fix it for another 40 or 50 years,” she said. “It’s something that you need to keep an eye on it when you notice it.”
Sinclair drains the water from that area. She said besides that, there is not a lot the college can do for the time being. However, draining is effective enough to give the campus a few more decades. For now, the damage is more cosmetic. However, if the damage reaches a point where it is threatening the integrity of the structure, Sinclair will have to deconstruct and reconstruct the area.
“The biggest issue with creep is that even though it’s the slowest, it’s the one example that causes the most monetary loss,” she said. “Because by the time you notice it, you’re into serious money to fix what’s been damaged.”
Henry said it is common for states that experience all four seasons to have cases of creeping, and to be aware of such when exploring real-state options.
Outside, individuals can look for leaning fences and trees, gaps between the porch and the house and retaining walls pushing outward. Inside, look for tension cracking, such as cracks that form through the bricks or down the walls.
“You can never prevent it. You can minimize it and reduce the likelihood of it happening by draining the water, but it’s a natural process and you won’t be able to stop it,” she said.