Impacts of construction-induced ground movement on buildings

CIRIA's new guidance, Assessing the impacts of construction-induced ground movement on framed buildings (C796), enables those with a role in managing construction impact from ground movement to better understand the impact and good practice mitigation strategies.

Ground movements caused by construction activities such as basement excavation or tunnelling have the potential to cause damage to neighbouring structures or services.

The guidance identifies the principal sources of ground movements and the techniques to predict them using empirical and analytical methods. It provides information on commonly adopted measures to control ground movements from initial design through to construction, including temporary works. It also outlines permissible movement for different structure types dependent on their condition and structural characteristics, and how this might be achieved by monitoring.

Webinar participants learned about the framework for assessing impacts to modern steel and reinforced concrete frame structures, and heard a case study showing good practice successfully implemented.