Monitoring of a full-scale house using digital photogrammetry

Distress in residential structures often leads to the development of unsightly cracking. Brittle non-structural components such as brick veneer which exist in the majority of Australian houses, are susceptible to cracking at low levels of deformation. In addition to environmental loads, some residential areas also experience low level ground vibrations due to their proximity to mines or quarries which use blasting to fracture rock. A research project at the University of Melbourne aims to quantify the response of residential structures to low level vibrations and environmental phenomena. One aspect of this research has been the monitoring of the response of a house to environmental loads using digital photogrammetry. Digital photogrammetry is a remote method of three-dimensional measurement having a high level of resolution and accuracy. Comparisons between surveys reveal deformation at each point of measurement. Within this research project, a full-scale brick veneer house approximately 30 years old, has been measured on a monthly basis using a digital photogrammetry system developed at the University of Melbourne. Monthly level loop surveys have provided a confirmatory dataset and environmental data has been recorded from a nearby weather station. This paper presents the results of an analysis on the response of the house monitored over a twelve month period. The survey and environmental datasets are examined then compared to correlate changes in environmental conditions with deformation. The outcome of this research is the quantification of the response of a full-scale house of representative construction to typical environmental loads