Adjacent property monitoring, anyone in construction or development knows of it and that it is a New York City Building code requirement, but what you don't know may slow up any number of projects.
When starting construction and/or demolition on a project, the same steps and procedures for ensuring a code compliant monitoring programs are typically adhered to:
1. The establishment of optical monitoring points on all adjacent properties.
2. Perform a visual inspection of the adjacent properties with photo documentation being conducted to capture all existing structural deficiencies prior to work beginning.
3. Install required crack tell gauges to monitor any movement of exterior or interior cracking found during the visual inspection of the adjacent properties.
4. Establish the specific range of movements allowable by the SOE engineer and the protocols on how to handle any noticed movement.
What is lost most times in this process is the identification of a professional engineering entity to take responsibility for monitoring and interpreting the data that comes from all of the established monitoring.
In an effort to push all developers and construction managers to close this loop by identifying the monitoring engineer the department of buildings has not now started to enforce the strict inspections guidelines called out in the TPPN 10/88.
This technical document, which used previously only in the case of monitoring landmark structures, has now become the gold standard for which building monitoring and the professionals providing it must hold themselves to. Now not a new document, but one not routinely adhered to the TPPN 10/88 identifies strict monitoring protocols that will need to be followed on all projects throughout New York City. The department of buildings with this enforcement is now ensuring the professional engineer responsible for the monitoring program is identified via the use of the TR-1 application that the TPPN 10/88 requires to be endorsed and filed with the department prior to work commencing. Just like all other work on proposed projects that require technical applications to be filed with a professional, taking responsibility for ensuring all work adheres to contract documents, the new TR-1 for the monitoring program will ensure a professional is not only paying attention to the data, but is also identified in the department on record with the project. This is the key point to stress because it is now being enforced as such on all sites in progress or upcoming with any ongoing project lacking it being put into a partial stop work order status until compliance is provided.
The good news for developers and construction managers alike is that all encompassing monitoring packages can be put together to ensure compliance with all TPPN 10/88 requirements for little to no additional effort then being put forth now. We at Domani Inspection Services have created a one-stop shop complete package with respect to monitoring protocols. Our in-house professional engineering staff, in conjunction with our expert field staff, has been providing monitoring services in conformance with the TPPN 10/88 as our standard on a number of ongoing projects in the city. We are committed to staying ahead of the department and their ever changing regulations and hope to show any prospective client what we are capable of providing for monitoring services.
Stephen Lampard is VP of technical services at Domani Inspection Services, Valley Stream, N.Y. Tags: