Browse Forums Paving & Concreting Re: How to monitor soil moisture to prevent slab heave? 3Nov 17, 2021 6:25 am 3in1 Supadiverta. Rainwater Harvesting Best Practice using syphonic drainage. Cleaner Neater Smarter Cheaper Supa Gutter Pumper. A low cost syphonic eaves gutter overflow solution. Re: How to monitor soil moisture to prevent slab heave? 6Nov 17, 2021 11:00 am 3in1 Supadiverta. Rainwater Harvesting Best Practice using syphonic drainage. Cleaner Neater Smarter Cheaper Supa Gutter Pumper. A low cost syphonic eaves gutter overflow solution. Re: How to monitor soil moisture to prevent slab heave? 13Nov 30, 2021 9:02 pm SLABsense Hi All. Thanks for the shout out and heads up about this post Matt! Yup, as Matt has mentioned, I'm my new business SLABsense (SLABsense.com.au & https://www.facebook.com/slabsense) is doing just what is described in this post, but is aimed at a sensible price point for the average home owner. Our sensors log data 24/7 to a cloud platform with an easy to read trend graph mapped against local rainfall data. Rental and purchase options (for long term installs and new builds) available. It can even email you an alert if a sensor reads a significantly above average reading alerting you to leaks and issues early. Pretty simple DIY install and we'll post units anywhere in Aus. Stage two dev is in progress where we're looking at tilt sensors to track wall movement. Thats coming soon. Happy to chat and answer any questions. Hi there Interested to know if the sensors are placed at ground level and if so how would they detected a stormwater or sewer leak which are are all below ground level with a slab footing. Also interested to know how the wall movement monitoring would work does it use a bench mark and where would that be ? Could see this being effective under a timber floor to pick up pipe leaks. Re: How to monitor soil moisture to prevent slab heave? 14Dec 21, 2021 4:24 pm groundzero SLABsense Hi All. Thanks for the shout out and heads up about this post Matt! Yup, as Matt has mentioned, I'm my new business SLABsense (SLABsense.com.au & https://www.facebook.com/slabsense) is doing just what is described in this post, but is aimed at a sensible price point for the average home owner. Our sensors log data 24/7 to a cloud platform with an easy to read trend graph mapped against local rainfall data. Rental and purchase options (for long term installs and new builds) available. It can even email you an alert if a sensor reads a significantly above average reading alerting you to leaks and issues early. Pretty simple DIY install and we'll post units anywhere in Aus. Stage two dev is in progress where we're looking at tilt sensors to track wall movement. Thats coming soon. Happy to chat and answer any questions. Hi there Interested to know if the sensors are placed at ground level and if so how would they detected a stormwater or sewer leak which are are all below ground level with a slab footing. Also interested to know how the wall movement monitoring would work does it use a bench mark and where would that be ? Could see this being effective under a timber floor to pick up pipe leaks. Hi - Happy to chat anytime on mobile or messenger etc but I'll briefly answer your questions here. Sorry for the delay too, for some reason I wasn't notified of your comment. Are SLABsensors installed at ground level? There's two basic install methods, surface and sub-surface. -- A surface install is the simplest (literally stab the sensor prongs into the ground) but as you mention, it doesn't really tell you anything about what's going on underground where the real cause is likely happening. It is however fine under a stumped house for example if you're investigating leaks, water ingress or flow under the house etc. -- A sub-surface install is preferred and as clay is often the contributing factor to foundation movement we recommend going as deep as needed to at least hit the clay layer; ideally a little deeper into the clay if possible. How would they detected a stormwater or sewer leak? In addition to the above about sub-surface installs, obviously the sensor would need to be installed in the proximity of the leak. Water/moisture moves through clay soil in all directions but lateral movement is somewhat slower and obviously less than vertical/gravity fed movement. Very localised moisture issues (ie where moisture from a leak doesn't spread) are unlikely to cause slabheave issues on their own so placing the sensor anywhere within a meter or so of a problem area should provide useful data that can represent a metre under your slab for example. Obviously installing under or alongside plumbing is great if you can. How do the wall movement / Tilt sensors work? We're currently testing our initial tilt sensors for viability and accuracy. Basically they attach to a surface such as a wall and the sensor produces an electrical signal proportional to the degree of tilt in multiple axes. Essentially the benchmark is Gravity but rather than just looking to accurately measure a starting point, we're more interested in tracking any change over time (at regular intervals rather than a '1 measurement now and then another in 3 months), and ideally pairing that with other data such as the soil sensors to help explain 'why & how fast' it's moving. RE Installing under timber floors to detect leaks Yes these can easily be installed under timber floors to detect leaks. We also have more cost effective leak sensors though that rather than a % moisture reading, are simply an on/off status triggered by water connecting two contacts - ie a puddle). These can't be installed underground but would be fine in this under floor scenario. I hope all that helps and please feel free to reach out if you'd like a chat about your specific needs. Cheers, Rob. Re: How to monitor soil moisture to prevent slab heave? 15Dec 21, 2021 5:01 pm Thanks for answering those questions Rob It is an interesting concept. Do the sensors measure gravimetric, volumetric moisture or degree of saturation and I'm assuming you need to place a control sensor away from the issue as a comparison. Different soil types will have a different normal moisture ranges and the only real way to see if a soil is abnormally wet or dry is through soil suction measurements compared to the climate zone.In regards to slab heave you really need to know what the pre construction moisture/suction is as I have seen significant slab heave within the expected normal moisture range but the construction was done during a drought with extremely dry soil conditions.I can see some benefits in using the sensors as an alert system if it measures the normal range over several years and then detects moisture outside that range but a year like this La nina year may trigger the sensors or give a false normal range. I think the water contact trigger sensor would be the most reliable and very useful for insurance claims. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Re: How to monitor soil moisture to prevent slab heave? 16Dec 21, 2021 6:12 pm groundzero Thanks for answering those questions Rob It is an interesting concept. Do the sensors measure gravimetric, volumetric moisture or degree of saturation and I'm assuming you need to place a control sensor away from the issue as a comparison. Different soil types will have a different normal moisture ranges and the only real way to see if a soil is abnormally wet or dry is through soil suction measurements compared to the climate zone.In regards to slab heave you really need to know what the pre construction moisture/suction is as I have seen significant slab heave within the expected normal moisture range but the construction was done during a drought with extremely dry soil conditions.I can see some benefits in using the sensors as an alert system if it measures the normal range over several years and then detects moisture outside that range but a year like this La nina year may trigger the sensors or give a false normal range. I think the water contact trigger sensor would be the most reliable and very useful for insurance claims. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Yup you're spot on - we pair the sensors up as a minimum to give a 'control' and reference point away from the problem area and rather than saying X% reading is good or bad or abnormal (which would obviously require specific calculations for that exact soil type and other tests and data), we're simply looking for changes over time in comparison/conflict to the other sensors. To a point, the 'levels' of moisture under a slab/home really don't matter that much if it's been designed correctly AND changes are consistent across the property - ie the whole house can move up and down with movement of the clay if it's fairly even without significant issues. Damage occurs when it's not even, when one area is behaving significantly different to the rest. And thats exactly what we're looking for. So yes, we're not really interested in what 'normal' is or exactly how reactive the specific soil in that location may be, just whats happening at several points across an area over time and then why. We're not looking to replace advanced measurements and testing, we're looking to empower your average home owner (or trade) with an effective early warning system and/or initial diagnostic tools. The other key point of difference from lab and 'manned site visit' testing is that SLABsense offers active and ongoing monitoring rather than occasional measurements - We upload measurements every 3 hours, chart against local weather data and the sensors can be installed for several years. An ideal long term install for a build on highly reactive clay would be when the plumbing site works are done and slab is poured. It can then log right through the build and for several years immediately after but they're also great for shorter term diagnostics of issues presenting damage and also 'proof of repair' post remedial action. As you asked, the current sensors we're using use the FDR method to calculate soil moisture and compensate with soil temperature and electrical conductivity. They've been rock solid and consistent which is great. Happy to chat any time. Rob. Re: How to monitor soil moisture to prevent slab heave? 17Dec 21, 2021 6:13 pm SLABsense groundzero Thanks for answering those questions Rob It is an interesting concept. Do the sensors measure gravimetric, volumetric moisture or degree of saturation and I'm assuming you need to place a control sensor away from the issue as a comparison. Different soil types will have a different normal moisture ranges and the only real way to see if a soil is abnormally wet or dry is through soil suction measurements compared to the climate zone.In regards to slab heave you really need to know what the pre construction moisture/suction is as I have seen significant slab heave within the expected normal moisture range but the construction was done during a drought with extremely dry soil conditions.I can see some benefits in using the sensors as an alert system if it measures the normal range over several years and then detects moisture outside that range but a year like this La nina year may trigger the sensors or give a false normal range. I think the water contact trigger sensor would be the most reliable and very useful for insurance claims. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Yup you're spot on - we pair the sensors up as a minimum to give a 'control' and reference point away from the problem area and rather than saying X% reading is good or bad or abnormal (which would obviously require specific calculations for that exact soil type and other tests and data), we're simply looking for changes over time in comparison/conflict to the other sensors. To a point, the 'levels' of moisture under a slab/home really don't matter that much if it's been designed correctly AND changes are consistent across the property - ie the whole house can move up and down with movement of the clay if it's fairly even without significant issues. Damage occurs when it's not even, when one area is behaving significantly different to the rest. And thats exactly what we're looking for. So yes, we're not really interested in what 'normal' is or exactly how reactive the specific soil in that location may be, just whats happening at several points across an area over time and then why. We're not looking to replace advanced measurements and testing, we're looking to empower your average home owner (or trade) with an effective early warning system and/or initial diagnostic tools. The other key point of difference from lab and 'manned site visit' testing is that SLABsense offers active and ongoing monitoring rather than occasional measurements - We upload measurements every 3 hours, chart against local weather data and the sensors can be installed for several years. An ideal long term install for a build on highly reactive clay would be when the plumbing site works are done and slab is poured. It can then log right through the build and for several years immediately after but they're also great for shorter term diagnostics of issues presenting damage and also 'proof of repair' post remedial action. As you asked, the current sensors we're using use the FDR method to calculate soil moisture and compensate with soil temperature and electrical conductivity. They've been rock solid and consistent which is great. Happy to chat any time. Rob. Oh - and I hope that photo of the stump in a puddle isn't your home! Re: How to monitor soil moisture to prevent slab heave? 18Dec 21, 2021 6:17 pm SLABsense SLABsense groundzero Thanks for answering those questions Rob It is an interesting concept. Do the sensors measure gravimetric, volumetric moisture or degree of saturation and I'm assuming you need to place a control sensor away from the issue as a comparison. Different soil types will have a different normal moisture ranges and the only real way to see if a soil is abnormally wet or dry is through soil suction measurements compared to the climate zone.In regards to slab heave you really need to know what the pre construction moisture/suction is as I have seen significant slab heave within the expected normal moisture range but the construction was done during a drought with extremely dry soil conditions.I can see some benefits in using the sensors as an alert system if it measures the normal range over several years and then detects moisture outside that range but a year like this La nina year may trigger the sensors or give a false normal range. I think the water contact trigger sensor would be the most reliable and very useful for insurance claims. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Yup you're spot on - we pair the sensors up as a minimum to give a 'control' and reference point away from the problem area and rather than saying X% reading is good or bad or abnormal (which would obviously require specific calculations for that exact soil type and other tests and data), we're simply looking for changes over time in comparison/conflict to the other sensors. To a point, the 'levels' of moisture under a slab/home really don't matter that much if it's been designed correctly AND changes are consistent across the property - ie the whole house can move up and down with movement of the clay if it's fairly even without significant issues. Damage occurs when it's not even, when one area is behaving significantly different to the rest. And thats exactly what we're looking for. So yes, we're not really interested in what 'normal' is or exactly how reactive the specific soil in that location may be, just whats happening at several points across an area over time and then why. We're not looking to replace advanced measurements and testing, we're looking to empower your average home owner (or trade) with an effective early warning system and/or initial diagnostic tools. The other key point of difference from lab and 'manned site visit' testing is that SLABsense offers active and ongoing monitoring rather than occasional measurements - We upload measurements every 3 hours, chart against local weather data and the sensors can be installed for several years. An ideal long term install for a build on highly reactive clay would be when the plumbing site works are done and slab is poured. It can then log right through the build and for several years immediately after but they're also great for shorter term diagnostics of issues presenting damage and also 'proof of repair' post remedial action. As you asked, the current sensors we're using use the FDR method to calculate soil moisture and compensate with soil temperature and electrical conductivity. They've been rock solid and consistent which is great. Happy to chat any time. Rob. Oh - and I hope that photo of the stump in a puddle isn't your home! No lucky it's not mine it's an insurance claim probably end up around 150k to repair everything your underfloor sensor probably would have saved 149k of the claim. Hi team, Im looking for a second hand sd4b monitor preferably white. 0 8923 Recently I moved to a 30 year old house and found within few months there are small brown nests in the brick mortar and few small round holes in few places of brick… 0 22680 |