Vibration from nearby construction

[EngDM]

Hey pals,

There is a new highway going in near my and my house is taking some vibration every day as they work. Are there any long term effects I should prepare myself for or document? I don't imagine construction vibration would crack foundation walls, but I'm not sure what sort of reinforcing was used given that it is residential and the NBCC has way relaxed requirements then that of commercial buildings that I am used to.

I haven't seen any issues so far, but would the best course of action just be to photograph everything to have before photos in the event of damage and insurance claims?

 

[hokie66]

Yes, that would be prudent.

 

[wrantler]

Doesnt hurt to monitor. unless you are on liquifiable soils there is prob very low risk.

 

[EngDM]

Is there any point in getting another engineer to come assess the property before any damage occurs? I'd imagine to get any real information I'd need to demo some of the basement to even see the foundation.

 

[la belle vie]

Take some photos ASAP so you can prove that any new damage was caused by the construction.

 

[JedClampett]

The contractor should have in his contract that any damage to adjacent properties due to construction activities is his responsibility to correct. A smart contractor would ask to inspect your house for cracks, record them and then correct any new cracks (which is unusual, but possible). I'm not in the highway business, but we expect this on pipeline projects, which are horizontal projects, too.
Thoe owner should of had a public outreach program where these kinds of concerns were addressed. But this assumes everyone really has their act together.

 

[271828]

If there's damage, I bet it'll be cracks in drywall and ceilings. Make sure you take pictures of those.

If you're very concerned about this, you could hire a geotech firm to monitor the vibrations and report the peak particle velocities (PPVs) of the ground right beside your house. There are PPV values that correlate with damage to this or that.

For example, the followings is from "Vibration Limits for Historical Buildings and Art Collections" by Johnson and Hannen (2015):