Architects for the Decorah High School addition want to make sure that problems with buildings sinking won't reoccur in new construction

Cracks run along a wall in the high school locker room area

The last time an addition was put onto Decorah High School, parts of the addition settled over time, causing cracks in the building.  Struxture Architects representative Nicholas Hildebrandt says his firm is taking steps to make sure that problem doesn't occur again.

Hildebrandt says the sinking occurred in the parts of the additions that were built on concrete slabs.  He says the additions that were built on top of concrete piers did not settle.  

That means piers will be used in the new construction areas.  Hildebrandt says Struxtures Architects "will watch it very closely" during the construction to make sure there is no settling of the ground on which the additions are being built.

The Decorah School District resorted to drilling holes in some areas of the high school where settling had occurred and pumping foam underneath the foundation.  That improved the situation in a number of areas of Decorah High School, although there are still places in the high school auditorium area and the locker room area where cracks can be seen in the walls.

There are still cracks on both sides of a pillar in the men's restroom near the high school auditorium

The wall above a door in the locker room area has a crack in it