Transfer of vibration from excavator through sand

[GClair]

Hi guys,
I have a situation where an owner is claiming damages to their property as a consequence of civil works (involving a small excavator) on a neighbouring property.
The excavator was working on sand so I would have thought that this would have been unlikely.
Does anyone have any suggestions or reference material they could point me too.
Thanks in advance.
Regards
Gavin

 

[dik]

Generally go through, prior to the work, and do an existing damage assessment... after the fact, it's a matter of checking if the damage is pristine... look for dirt in cracks, even found spider webs..., and that sort of stuff... it's a lot easier before hand to document cracks, etc.

Dik

 

[oldestguy]

If this was saturated sand, it is possible for damage in the immediate vicinity but mainly with migration out from under footings. I've seen that happen. With non saturated sand, working nearby (within 10 feet) it also has happened.

 

[dik]

Any chance the excavator drove too close to the existing and maybe surcharged whatever moved?

 

[EireChch]

Whats the geometry of the problem. Distance from neighboring property, size of excavation etc.

DiK - if its a small job, its not likely that a pre construction survey would be done (IMHO). Bar a visual from what you can see from your side of the fence. A post construction inspection by an experienced surveyor may be able to determine if damage was pre existing.

 

[dik]

Yup...

Dik