Impervious Membrane in Methane Mitigation Impervious Membrane: In accordance with the Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety (LADBS) Methane Code, Ordinance Number 175790, an impervious membrane is a continuous methane gas barrier. It is a crucial part of the methane mitigation process and underlies a building to impede the vapor intrusion of methane soil gas….

Dilatancy “Dilatancy” is the increase in the bulk volume of a soil substance during deformation. Dilatancy is caused by the change from a close-pack structure to an open-pack structure.

Methane Alarm System Methane Alarm System: As per the Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety (LADBS) Methane Code, Ordinance Number 175790, a methane alarm system is part of an active methane mitigation plan. A methane alarm system is a group of interacting components and circuits that synchronize to monitor and annunciate the status of…

Mineral Definition A mineral is defined as an inorganic element, compound, or substance that naturally develops with an organized internal structure and/or crystal form over time. Minerals are also distinguishable by their chemical composition and physical properties, as determined in laboratories by geologists. Typical earth minerals found in most igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary rocks are…

Well Graded Soil Well Graded: In the soil classification process of geology, well graded soil represents a sedimentary soil sample that fully displays all of the possible grain sizes for that soil classification, in accordance with the Unified Soil Classification System (USCS). For example, a well graded sand (SW) comprises fine, medium, and coarse grains…

U-Shaped Kitchen U-Shaped Kitchen: A U-shaped kitchen, or a horseshoe kitchen, is a general kitchen plan layout with counters, walls, and cabinets that generally form a square-like or rectangular-like shape of the letter “u.”  In the State of California (and other states with similar building code standards), U-shaped kitchens must have a minimum of 60-inches…