MONITORING THE MOVEMENT OF STRUCTURES

Structural & Civil Consultants have developed a method of monitoring direct movements in the foundations to within 0.1mm. Costs are similar to traditional monitoring of cracks but results are very much more useful.

Monitoring periods can be cut down to 4 weeks in some cases.

An example of monitoring of one of five walls. Reading errors are slightly increased as the work was carried out internally off timber floors. Note that the scale has graduations of only 0.2mm so movement is negligible or non-existent.

Savings of approximately £50,000 have been made as it was possible to prove that major cracking in the walls and ceilings was not associated with movement in the foundations. This result was very unexpected because:-
(i) previous signs of settlement in the building and in adjacent properties;
(ii) a site investigation that confirmed poor ground conditions;
(iii) one of the walls had a deeper foundation than the rest.

This building was known to sit above a Viking moat around York. The traditional monitoring of cracks gave no clue as to whether the main building or the offshoot was founded on firmer ground. The new method however, indicated the nature of the problem within weeks.