tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7588408373722916436.post8247587947877966583..comments2024-03-25T23:53:09.151-07:00Comments on Surveying Property: What's the crack? The importance of correct diagnosis of cracking in buildingsGary O'Neillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15686620694822791314noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7588408373722916436.post-49168121531975668682016-02-02T14:13:10.179-08:002016-02-02T14:13:10.179-08:00Underpinning certainly requires careful justificat...Underpinning certainly requires careful justification because it is very costly and disruptive, but to state that it is rarely required is not correct. Furthermore failure of the ground UNDER the foundations has the knock on effect of failure of the foundation and consequent cracking of the superstructure. The purpose of underpinning is commonly to extend foundations to a level below which factors such as tree roots and desiccation of shrinkable clay can affect the building, hence the importance of site investigations including bore holes and tree root analysis. An underpinning design prepared by an ASUC registered Contractor, based on a detailed site investigation report and backed up by an ASUC guarantee should not cause concern about future failure. <br /><br />Richard MAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15280726998720101694noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7588408373722916436.post-69788430922657936062016-01-27T21:19:19.116-08:002016-01-27T21:19:19.116-08:00Good info, thanks. Still need to talk about ways o...Good info, thanks. Still need to talk about ways of monitoring the cracks. Proper monitoring helps determine the causes of the cracks.zi-Monitorhttp://zi-monitor.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7588408373722916436.post-23085049755512022772016-01-27T02:06:53.240-08:002016-01-27T02:06:53.240-08:00Joe is correct, the problem is rarely failure of t...Joe is correct, the problem is rarely failure of the foundations but much more likely, failure of the ground UNDER the foundations and simply putting new and bigger foundations under the existing ones won't necessarily address the problem of failures in the sub-soil beneath. If wash-out of granular soil is occurring, then if nothing is done to arrest the water movement, then the new, beefed up foundations will simply slide out from under just like the original ones did. Hence the importance of exploring the situation and thinking very carefully what the mechanism of failure really is before doing anything. Simply saying cracking = underpinning could just make the problem no better but far more expensive. <br /><br />Michael Ney Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7588408373722916436.post-79731904902300731742016-01-23T05:08:32.858-08:002016-01-23T05:08:32.858-08:00Interesting article Gary which brings to my mind a...Interesting article Gary which brings to my mind a point worth considering... Underpinning has an incredibly high failure rate and needs very careful justification. In my experience it is very rarely required and where movement is progressive and ongoing it can often be arrested by addressing the fundamental problem with local ground conditions rather than focussing on alleged foundation defects. <br /><br />Joe MaloneAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13077674351942186244noreply@blogger.com