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Subsidence of residential property Since economy in cost is a major feature in the construction of residential property, and foundations are costly, it is almost inevitable that problems occur as a result of subsidence. Mr J. Amold, writing from Exeter, tells us of some of the difficulties that arise with the use of certain economic,remedial measures! Verulam

Work has been going on for many years to produce a ‘suite’ of EuroCodes; the first public airing of the documents that have been prepared so far is soon to take place. (See post.) The beginnings of a set of harmonised recommendations for the design of structures were born of cooperation between several international associations, then preparing, in various ways, their own drafts. The Joint Committee on Structural Safety (JCSS) brought together the work of CEB, CIB, and CECM commissions to draft a set of six volumes as follows:

From as far back as the 196Os, many people within the construction industry have become increasingly aware that the unrelated nature and, often, poor content of drawings, specifications, and bills of quantities, made for inefficiency. Contractor’s claims arising from inadequate or unreliable information at the tender stage were becoming a more common occurrence. There was a time when a colleague of mine, when drawing up a list of contractors to be invited to tender, used to get his secretary to ring up each in turn and ask to be put through to the claims department. If she was, then that contractor was crossed off the list. For a long time now, however, such an exercise would be a waste of time for, in a competitive world, contractors cannot be expected to do for nothing work that has not been clearly defined in the tender documents. If these are unreliable, inconsistent or incomplete, it is not surprising that claims are made and that claims departments have come to be a permanent part of many contractors’ organisations. Alex Gordon