Urgent structural or life-safety concerns require assessment by an appropriately qualified professional. This guide is for preliminary scoping only.
1. Establish the movement pattern
Map cracks, distortion, level changes and affected elements. Record orientation, width, continuity and apparent chronology without treating crack width alone as proof of cause or severity.
- Which elements moved together, and which did not?
- Is the pattern local, linear, peripheral or widespread?
- Is movement continuing, seasonal, load-related or apparently stable?
- Are doors, services, joints or adjacent pavements showing related displacement?
2. Reconstruct what changed
Review construction sequence, foundation information, additions, excavation, changes in loading or use, nearby works, drainage history, leaks, flooding, vegetation and previous repairs. A dated timeline can reveal relationships that a single inspection cannot.
3. Develop competing hypotheses
Keep plausible explanations visible until evidence separates them. These may involve variable fill, consolidation, erosion, moisture change, adjacent excavation, load redistribution, service leakage, foundation detailing, or a combination of factors.
4. Match investigation to uncertainty
Use records, survey, monitoring, non-destructive methods, intrusive investigation and laboratory or in-situ testing in proportion to the decision. Each activity should answer a stated question and identify what would support or weaken the current hypothesis.
5. Define the treatment objective
Objectives such as improving support, limiting further movement, recovering level, protecting operations or addressing a water pathway are distinct. A proposed intervention should state which objective it addresses, what it does not address and what site conditions could change the plan.
6. Verify and monitor
Agree reference points, measurement methods, tolerances and review periods. Where uncertainty remains, use hold points and escalation criteria rather than presenting a single predicted outcome as guaranteed.