Could Road Construction lead to a broken pipe at the opposite end of the pipe? Level effect? 1

[JohnnyDanger]

There was some heavy road construction outside my building, a few days later the main water and irrigation line both broke on my side of the meter. Could the pipe have acted like a level( seesaw effect) in which movement on one end effects the connection on the opposite side of the pipe?

Please let me know if such a thing is possible?

Thanks.

 

[LittleInch]

It's possible if the pipe was subjected to movement as a result of ground compaction or vibration.

The effect might be bending or simply axial stress if the pipe has moved.

All depends on what the routing is, how the road construction impacted the incoming pipe, strength, type and size of pipes, soil type etc. A drawing or sketch of the buried piping layout (if you know it) would help.

On the other hand could just be coincidence....

Remember - More details = better answers
Also: If you get a response it's polite to respond to it.

 

[BigInch]

An engineer would tell you that it is 99% probable that the road construction caused it.
A lawyer will tell you there is no question that the road construction caused it.
The lawyer is more certain.
Call the lawyer.

 

[LittleInch]

99's a bit high - on the data provided to date I wouldn't go more than 50....

But yes, we deal in shades of gray, lawyers just deal in black or white.

Remember - More details = better answers
Also: If you get a response it's polite to respond to it.

 

[JohnGP]

If the road construction caused such damage on your side because of movement, it wouldn't be surprising for some damage to occur on the upstream side as well.

 

[BigInch]

Upstream side might be made of pipes considerably different diameters and wall thicknesses, while pipes downstream of connection points are usually smaller and lighter walls. If anything were to break, I'd bet it would be the smaller pipes. If bending due to high loads over the center of a pipe running under a road were to happen, it is likely that the pipe on either side would try to resist that bending by acting similar to a beam with fixed ends, thus suffering high bending stresses at the connection point. Depends on how close the connection point is.

Any more details available?

 

[JohnGP]

Just saying. Without details it's all a bit of a guess. (Agree with your logic though BI)

 

[racookpe1978]

HIS lawyer will tell you that it is impossible.
YOUR lawyer will get paid claiming it is not only possible, but a 100% certainly.
An engineer will tell you that it is likely.

Can you find "any" evidence of movement of "anything" else by 1/2 to 2 inches nearby the building, the street, OR the pipe: curb cracked or dug out, steps moved or settled (or maybe raised), a walkway or sidewalk now cracked, a tree crooked or leaning or dead, lines or cracks in the soil, a sign or USPS box tilted? The soil moves first, THEN the pipe moves to relieve the stress that has been increased, then the pipe cracks.

Any evidence of the building moving? Brick cracks most likely? Doors now jamming or not closing, air leaks, paint stars or cracks, windows not opening? ANYTHING that shows movement is evidence of movement, which is evidence of that the pipe cracked because of movement. (Doesn't "prove" that the road construction caused the building movement, but it establishes the building did move.)

Go open and shut windows and closet doors and look for gaps and for interior paint problems near the ppipe entry. Take photos and document the findings for your lawyer.

 

[BigInch]

Soil movements could have been only in the vertical plane and not necessarily permanent. If under pavement, they still might not have been visible at all. Depending on pavement activities, if there was any at the time, or having been laid afterwards, there may be no surface evidence apparent at this time at all.

 

[bimr]

It would help if you would provide some basic information like size of pipe, age of pipe, distance from construction, climate, weather, etc.

 

[BigInch]

Well all he really asked was, "if it was possible." He didn't ask for an analysis yet.
In that case I think the answer to that question is a resounding "Could be".

 

[Gator]

"pipes downstream of connection points are usually smaller and lighter walls"

Can you elaborate?

 

[brimmer]

To reiterate what others have said above, yes definitely possible due to bending stresses (pipe is flexing up/down) while the equipment was working over/nearby the pipe. Have seen many failures from this, namely at road crossings where the is inadequate cover over the pipeline. Can calculate expected stresses based on weight and configuration (number of axles, track, spacing of axles/tracks) of the equipment and depth of cover over the lines.

 

[3DDave]

There was some construction nearby where a large earth mover went by. I think it was a 4 wheel articulated backhoe. I watched a wave of dirt rise about 2 inches just ahead of the wheels tapering out 10 to 15 feet ahead of the machine and dip about 3 inches where the wheels went over and then rebound in the minutes after it passed. It was like the visual effects in the movie The Matrix.

Within a year several large trees on both sides of that path died.

I can imagine what similar deviations could do to relatively rigid pipes, but I'll bet the other side is going to deny they did it and then deny they are solely responsible, blaming aging materials or God.

 

[BigInch]

A year has passed since the contruction? It is possible that the beginnings of the failure could have been initiated by construction, but such a long time passing considerably reduces the odds of making a legally direct connection to the construction activities. They tend to like to see more immediate cause-effect relationships.