Benefits of level monitoring

Informative, accurate, reliable and cost effective

 Take the guess work out of subsidence claims using the most accurate instruments on the market and experienced personnel, precise levelling can reliably measure foundation movements to a fraction of a mm. Graphical presentation against time produces a clear picture of which parts of the house are moving and how much.

• implicated trees are readily identified
• misdiagnosis is eliminated
• limited underpinning schemes can be designed in the knowledge that they are stabilising the right parts of the structure.

Cost effective Precise leveling is more expensive than simple crack monitoring, but the benefits easily outweigh the additional cost.

• Fewer surveys are needed because the degree and pattern of movement is identified more rapidly usually within 6 months
• Tree owners, especially Local Authorities, find the evidence difficult to refute and escalation of the damage is avoided
• Inappropriate underpinning is eliminated
• The typical cost of monitoring a domestic property over a one year period is about £ 500*.

Reliable Changes in crack width can provide a useful indication of what is happening to the structure and, in simple cases, these changes may reflect what is happening to the foundations. Unfortunately, in many cases the changes in crack width bear little resemblance to the recorded foundation movements. Cracks can remain stable while the foundations continue to move seasonally or new cracks can open in locations that are not being monitored. Equally cracks can open without corresponding subsidence or heave, which is positive proof that the cracks have been caused by processes other than subsidence. Even in simple cases, crack widths give no quantitative information on how effective tree control or other remedial measures have been.

Application of the results In most cases, the cause of the subsidence and broad recommendations for remedial measures (e.g. tree management, drain repairs, underpinning, etc.) can be based on the results of the monitoring alone. Moreover, the complex cases where further investigations are needed can be readily identified and targeted.

Back to the Top, Home, Level Monitoring

Designed by A.Marks