My college major was geology. At the time I was in school, I had no idea how valuable this degree would be once I became a full-time builder. There’s a very good chance I was the only builder in Cincinnati who knew soil maps existed and how to interpret them.
A little-known fact about Cincinnati is that it has the highest incidence of houses damaged by landslides. California gets all the ink when winter storms cause houses to fall into the ocean, but Cincinnati is plagued by slow-moving landslides that affect thousands of parcels of land. A few decades ago, the most expensive retaining wall ever built was completed in Cincinnati. I’m not sure this record still stands, but it’s all because of poor soil conditions on many of Cincinnati’s hillsides. I was exposed to this reality while in college, and I’ve never forgotten it….