anyone know rules over digging?

[Mark Anderson]

They're digging a foundation two lots down from me and they're pounding
the shovel so hard into the ground that it shakes my foundation. Is
there some sort of rule as to how much vibration they are allowed to
cause? I haven't felt my place shake this much with any other
foundation digs nearby. I'm starting to worry about structural damage
this could cause any of my brick walls.

[samiso]

Post by Mark Anderson
They're digging a foundation two lots down from me and they're pounding
the shovel so hard into the ground that it shakes my foundation. Is
there some sort of rule as to how much vibration they are allowed to
cause? I haven't felt my place shake this much with any other
foundation digs nearby. I'm starting to worry about structural damage
this could cause any of my brick walls.

call the city code inforcement people

[barbie gee]

Post by Mark Anderson
They're digging a foundation two lots down from me and they're pounding
the shovel so hard into the ground that it shakes my foundation. Is
there some sort of rule as to how much vibration they are allowed to
cause? I haven't felt my place shake this much with any other
foundation digs nearby. I'm starting to worry about structural damage
this could cause any of my brick walls.

They are supposed to first install retaining wall "plates" on either side
of the property, to protect the adjoining homes/basements from collapse or
cave-in BEFORE they start digging.

Do they have permits pulled?
CALL 311, now.

[googlekenji]

Post by barbie gee

Post by Mark Anderson
They're digging a foundation two lots down from me and they're pounding
the shovel so hard into the ground that it shakes my foundation. Is
there some sort of rule as to how much vibration they are allowed to
cause? I haven't felt my place shake this much with any other
foundation digs nearby. I'm starting to worry about structural damage
this could cause any of my brick walls.

They are supposed to first install retaining wall "plates" on either side
of the property, to protect the adjoining homes/basements from collapse or
cave-in BEFORE they start digging.
Do they have permits pulled?
CALL 311, now.

911, say your fine china is falling out of the cupboards.

[Mark Anderson]

Post by barbie gee

Post by Mark Anderson
They're digging a foundation two lots down from me and they're pounding
the shovel so hard into the ground that it shakes my foundation. Is
there some sort of rule as to how much vibration they are allowed to
cause? I haven't felt my place shake this much with any other
foundation digs nearby. I'm starting to worry about structural damage
this could cause any of my brick walls.

They are supposed to first install retaining wall "plates" on either side
of the property, to protect the adjoining homes/basements from collapse or
cave-in BEFORE they start digging.

They didn't do that but they're within the setbacks on each side. My
neighbor should worry since she's right next door. Her place is an old
frame building which should withstand the vibrations better than 100
year old brick. If I'm feeling tremors those adjacent properties must
be really getting shaken. The place 3 doors down is cement brick 20
year old construction so they have the most to worry.

Post by barbie gee
Do they have permits pulled?
CALL 311, now.

I'm not a snitch. They have one permit shown on the fence and I'm sure
they have all their ducks in order. These are supposed to by high end
condos. It's the technique of digging I'm unsure of. Instead of
scraping which would probably take more time and skill they're pounding
because the ground is hard. When tearing down the house they probably
should have had someone with a hose dampen the dust a little like I saw
them do at the recent Wrigley Field bleacher tear down. Not sure if the
place had asbestos or not. Hopefully the city checked on that but if so
it's all in my lungs now. Can't do much about it but wait for the
inevitable.

[barbie gee]

Post by Mark Anderson

Post by barbie gee

Post by Mark Anderson
They're digging a foundation two lots down from me and they're pounding
the shovel so hard into the ground that it shakes my foundation. Is
there some sort of rule as to how much vibration they are allowed to
cause? I haven't felt my place shake this much with any other
foundation digs nearby. I'm starting to worry about structural damage
this could cause any of my brick walls.

They are supposed to first install retaining wall "plates" on either side
of the property, to protect the adjoining homes/basements from collapse or
cave-in BEFORE they start digging.

They didn't do that but they're within the setbacks on each side. My

"Setbacks" are irrelevant. They HAVE TO assure that they retaining walls
in before digging.

Post by Mark Anderson
neighbor should worry since she's right next door. Her place is an old
frame building which should withstand the vibrations better than 100
year old brick. If I'm feeling tremors those adjacent properties must
be really getting shaken. The place 3 doors down is cement brick 20
year old construction so they have the most to worry.

Post by barbie gee
Do they have permits pulled?
CALL 311, now.

I'm not a snitch. They have one permit shown on the fence and I'm sure
they have all their ducks in order. These are supposed to by high end
condos. It's the technique of digging I'm unsure of. Instead of
scraping which would probably take more time and skill they're pounding
because the ground is hard. When tearing down the house they probably
should have had someone with a hose dampen the dust a little like I saw
them do at the recent Wrigley Field bleacher tear down. Not sure if the
place had asbestos or not. Hopefully the city checked on that but if so
it's all in my lungs now. Can't do much about it but wait for the
inevitable.

Permits is one thing, whether or not you think it's "snitching".

Calling 311 because your house is shaking, and maybe they need someone to
come out and make sure they're doing things right, is another.
No matter how "high end" the GC is, his subcontractors doing the actual
work may very well cut corners when they think no one is looking. It's
not snitching if someone is doing something potentially endangering you or
your neighbors.

You'd rather wait til something bad happens? You won't have a leg to
stand on, when you are asked, "so, Mr. Anderson, when the house was
shaking and being vibrated, did you call to have the worksite inspected?"

[Mark Anderson]

Post by barbie gee
"Setbacks" are irrelevant. They HAVE TO assure that they retaining walls
in before digging.

I have not once seen anyone put in a retaining wall before digging a
foundation. This is an issue with the immediate neighbors since it's
their foundation that is affected from that kind of collapse. A
retaining wall won't do squat against ground tremors which was my
concern.

Post by barbie gee
Permits is one thing, whether or not you think it's "snitching".
Calling 311 because your house is shaking, and maybe they need someone to
come out and make sure they're doing things right, is another.
No matter how "high end" the GC is, his subcontractors doing the actual
work may very well cut corners when they think no one is looking. It's
not snitching if someone is doing something potentially endangering you or
your neighbors.

I merely asked to see if this a normal way of digging because I hadn't
felt tremors in other new foundation digs. I'm not calling 311 unless I
know the technique they used is unusual and I never call to have
paperwork checked. They posted a permit out front and I saw it on
Everyblock. What else do I need to know?

Once you get every neighbor snitching on every other neighbor a
neighborhood turns to shit like this one area around here where a friend
of mine bought in to. Anything he did some asshole called the city on
him. He got so frustrated that instead of fixing up his place he
flipped it for a small profit and left. He would have turned that
building into something nice but instead it remained dilapidated. That
block is still shit to this day and apparently those neighbors want to
keep it that way. Recently I saw one of those people on that block post
complaints to Everyblock which was kind of funny knowing the block's
back story. If I had neighbors like that I'd move out in a heartbeat.
Life is too short to deal with petty people.

I don't need building inspectors descending upon this block based on a
complaint by me. Blowback is always a bitch. The last time one of my
neighbors did this the inspectors went up and down the block and cited
everyone -- even me. I wasn't even part of this petty squabble and now
I had bullshit to deal with. I was not a happy camper with that petty
snitch for getting me involved in her bullshit but luckily she has since
moved on.

I fear the city more than someone doing something without proper
paperwork.

Post by barbie gee
You'd rather wait til something bad happens? You won't have a leg to
stand on, when you are asked, "so, Mr. Anderson, when the house was
shaking and being vibrated, did you call to have the worksite inspected?"

I have it video documented. My video should be a pretty good
measurement device and some kind of proof. Right now I don't see any
structural damage inside or out so it all may be a mute point.

This just popped up on Everyblock. I thought I had it bad with dust.
This lady called 311 and nothing got done because 311 can't really do
anything but get bureaucrats involved. What gets things done is
personally talking with them and if that doesn't work get out the camera
and act like you're going to sue for a lot more than that GC can
possibly make on that job. Cameras and overt photography of their
activities do get their attention. From the pics of that lady's patio
she has a good reason to be pissed.

http://www.wickerparkbucktown.info/_blog/Wicker_Park_Bucktown_Insider%
27s_Guide/post/construction-wickerpark-bucktown-chicago-lead/

[Brent]

Post by Mark Anderson
Once you get every neighbor snitching on every other neighbor a
neighborhood turns to shit like this one area around here where a friend
of mine bought in to. Anything he did some asshole called the city on
him. He got so frustrated that instead of fixing up his place he
flipped it for a small profit and left. He would have turned that
building into something nice but instead it remained dilapidated. That
block is still shit to this day and apparently those neighbors want to
keep it that way. Recently I saw one of those people on that block post
complaints to Everyblock which was kind of funny knowing the block's
back story. If I had neighbors like that I'd move out in a heartbeat.
Life is too short to deal with petty people.

Once again Anderson argues for the natural order of society over the
government order for society pointing out the disparity in results for
the two systems.

[Brent]

Post by Mark Anderson

Post by barbie gee
Do they have permits pulled?
CALL 311, now.

I'm not a snitch.

government needs snitches to do the things you want them to do. We don't
have viewscreens and cameras and patrolling drones... yet.

[Ts of Og]

Post by Brent
government needs snitches to do the things you want them to do. We don't
have viewscreens and cameras and patrolling drones... yet.

2 weekends ago I stopped and watched the work by the contractor on the Circle Interchange project, one of the Shamrock outfits.. Walsh or McHugh. These genuises were using a foundation boring rig to lift muddy water from a hole and dump it into a front loader. The loader would then dump the water on the ground nearby, thus creating a closed loop. Our taxes at work, at 1.5x OT.

[Tommy Bagpipes]

Post by Ts of Og

Post by Brent
government needs snitches to do the things you want them to do. We don't
have viewscreens and cameras and patrolling drones... yet.

2 weekends ago I stopped and watched the work by the contractor on the Circle Interchange project, one of the Shamrock outfits.. Walsh or McHugh. These genuises were using a foundation boring rig to lift muddy water from a hole and dump it into a front loader. The loader would then dump the water on the ground nearby, thus creating a closed loop. Our taxes at work, at 1.5x OT.

The Circle/Byrne work finally finished in 2022. I posted about this since the 1990s.
You're Welcome.
Bagpipes Out !!!

[Bruce Esquibel]

Post by Mark Anderson
They're digging a foundation two lots down from me and they're pounding
the shovel so hard into the ground that it shakes my foundation. Is
there some sort of rule as to how much vibration they are allowed to
cause? I haven't felt my place shake this much with any other
foundation digs nearby. I'm starting to worry about structural damage
this could cause any of my brick walls.

What I would do is get a snapshot of the building permit, get any company
names off the trucks and simply call your insurance company that handles
your homeowners and file an incident report.

I think even if they wanted to use dynamite, they probably could get a
permit to use it, but whatever method they use, it's your insurance company
that would wage battle and giving them enough ammo to start is the only way
to secure a fix later.

It might take a year or two to see bulging walls in the basement or cracks
to form where there were none before, but if it seems severe enough where it
could be related, filing a report now will save a lot of greif later.

They might even send a guy out with a clipboard to look around and make
notes, maybe they are doing it wrong, maybe not but at least it'll go in a
file somewhere for possible later use.

It still might be a stretch if it ends up in court but it's better than
doing nothing at all.

-bruce
***@ripco.com

[Mark Anderson]

Post by Bruce Esquibel
What I would do is get a snapshot of the building permit, get any company
names off the trucks and simply call your insurance company that handles
your homeowners and file an incident report.
I think even if they wanted to use dynamite, they probably could get a
permit to use it, but whatever method they use, it's your insurance company
that would wage battle and giving them enough ammo to start is the only way
to secure a fix later.
It might take a year or two to see bulging walls in the basement or cracks
to form where there were none before, but if it seems severe enough where it
could be related, filing a report now will save a lot of greif later.

My foundation is stone blocks. I'm not worried at all about that. I'm
worried about the above ground load bearing brick walls. Ground tremors
are the Achilles heal of stacked brick which is why so many load bearing
brick buildings collapse during earthquakes.

Post by Bruce Esquibel
They might even send a guy out with a clipboard to look around and make
notes, maybe they are doing it wrong, maybe not but at least it'll go in a
file somewhere for possible later use.

No no no no. Never call the insurance company. They'll raise my rates
if they even get a hint something funny might have happened to the
structure of the building. Insurance companies are scum, one notch
above Comcast, and the only reason I have homeowners is for big stuff
like this.

I don't see any new cracks and they're done pounding. The building next
to me will be the next to meet the wrecking ball, perhaps next year.
Since strength of tremors decrease with distance squared this could be a
real problem then. I'd like to know if pounding like that is part of
best practices or just a GC taking short cuts. If it's the latter I'll
get a lawyer and start drafting warnings to the GC making sure they take
care or else. Relying on 311 is useless.