Monitoring Survey UK and London Guide
Monitoring surveys protect buildings during construction. Here is what to commission and when.
Types of Monitoring Surveys
| Survey Type | What It Monitors | | --- | --- | | Structural monitoring | Settlement, heave, tilt | | Vibration monitoring | PPV from construction | | Party wall monitoring | Adjacent property condition | | BNG monitoring | Biodiversity baseline and habitats | | Basement monitoring | Ground movement during excavation |
Monitoring Survey UK and London Guide
Monitoring surveys protect buildings during construction, here is what to commission and when, with five types-of-monitoring-surveys, the five monitoring types, the typical use cases, the trigger convention, the typical monitoring period, the OS National Grid coordinate system convention, the signed accuracy statement, and the RICS Measured Surveys standard. The five types-of-monitoring-surveys are structural monitoring (settlement, heave, tilt, with level of detail for agreed agreed agreed agreed agreed agreed agreed downstream use), vibration monitoring (PPV from construction, with level of detail for agreed agreed agreed agreed agreed agreed agreed downstream use), party wall monitoring (adjacent property condition, with level of detail for agreed agreed agreed agreed agreed agreed agreed downstream use), BNG monitoring (biodiversity baseline and habitats, with level of detail for agreed agreed agreed agreed agreed agreed agreed downstream use), and basement monitoring (ground movement during excavation, with level of detail for agreed agreed agreed agreed agreed agreed agreed downstream use). To commission a monitoring survey, send a brief covering the building or structure to be monitored, the adjacent or proposed works that drive the need to monitor, the monitoring period (typically the construction phase of the adjacent works plus a defined lead-in and lead-out), the target trigger levels (typically three bands — alert, alarm, and critical — at values agreed with the structural engineer or ecologist as appropriate), and the reporting frequency (typically weekly summary reports with same-day notification of any trigger exceedance). icelabz responds with a fixed-fee quote within twenty-four hours, and the on-site installation of monitoring equipment is typically scheduled within five to ten working days of instruction. The five monitoring types are structural monitoring (settlement, heave, tilt at agreed points on the building fabric), vibration monitoring (peak particle velocity levels during adjacent works, typically to the thresholds defined in BS 7385), party wall monitoring (the condition of an adjoining owner's property where the proposed works could affect it, typically with a written record photograph set and ongoing visual inspection), BNG monitoring (biodiversity baseline and habitat condition under a statutory biodiversity net gain obligation, typically 30 years with reporting at years 0, 1, 2, 3, 5, and 30), and basement monitoring (ground movement during excavation, typically combining precise levelling, tilt sensors, and inclinometers in the surrounding ground and adjoining structure). Typical use cases include basement excavation adjacent to a neighbouring building, demolition or piling close to a party wall, works to a listed building, transport schemes where vibration could affect heritage assets, embankment or slope stability works, and development subject to a biodiversity net gain condition. All icelabz monitoring work is undertaken to the accuracy bands defined by the RICS Measured Surveys of Land, Buildings and Utilities standard (3rd edition) and is issued with a signed accuracy statement at handover. The OS National Grid with Ordnance Datum Newlyn heights is the UK convention, with EPSG:27700.