This study has investigated thresholds of damage for privately owned low-rise residential properties damaged by ground subsidence or heave movement. The primary focus of the research objectives has been the uncertainties created by subsidence damage. The study investigates thresholds of damage that can be used to assess the remedial action necessary for low-rise residential properties damaged by ground subsidence or heave movement. After investigating thresholds of damage, the study subsequently considers the implications that thresholds of damage would create if applied in practice. The research was carried out through the collection and analysis of 236 case study properties. Each case study represents a privately owned low-rise residential property that was thought to have been damaged by ground subsidence or heave movement. The research has considered properties damaged by subsidence or heave movement caused by leaking drains, clay subsoil shrinkage or expansion and subsidence caused by coal-mining. Case study information has been gathered from a variety of sources, using data collected by professionally qualified chartered engineers, surveyors or other specialists. In addition to these case studies, the research has employed semi-structured interviews in order to consider the implications that thresholds of damage would create if applied in practice. The research found that the evaluation of visible damage is a highly subjective matter and that any thresholds based upon an assessment of visible damage are an unreliable method to consider whether or not a property requires substantive repairs. The most robust threshold of damage which is found to emerge was to evaluate whether or not the movement causing the damage in the property is long-term progressive. The consequences of implementing this threshold of damage have been investigated. It has been concluded that if this threshold of damage was adopted, it could lead to both reductions in payments necessary to repair subsidence or heave damage and it could also reduce some of the uncertainties associated with subsidence.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:324729 |
| Date | January 2000 |
| Creators | Jackson, Robert |
| Publisher | Nottingham Trent University |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
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