In The Day the House Fell, Richard Handy uses his years of professional engineering experience, his knowledge of geology, and his sense of humor to provide a light-hearted look at soil problems that confound home buyers, builders, architects, and real estate agents alike. With straightforward, easy-to-read language, Handy shows the reader how to recognize and deal with problems that are at the very foundations of their domiciles.

He addresses some of the most common and severe site problems, details what to look out for, and explains when to get professional help. The text contains numerous diagrams, and each chapter concludes with a list of key points, questions, and answers.

1. This is a book about soils - not soils that grow things, but soils that are intended to support hillsides, walls, streets, and houses. This book looks for the deeper meaning in topics like landslides, earthquakes, and footing drains - topics that are of legitimate concern to homeowners, builders, architects, real estate agents, zoning boards, attorneys, assessors, insurance adjusters, earth movers, environmentalists, engineers, and anybody else we can think of.