Can foundations be investigated without digging?

[Snapdragonsoup]

We have some suspicious developments in our property following our neighbour's construction a few years back (it has been gradually developing since then). Not significant cracking which would obviously spark a possible subsidence claim but damage/deformation to another structure instead along with slight hairline cracking. I wondered if it is possible to investigate the foundations e.g. with a special camera?

Hello - geotechnical engineer here, married to another one, who designs house foundations pretty much daily.

No, you can't do what you want without digging. Even with a camera (I assume you mean some kind of endoscope), you'd need to dig a hole to put in it. Geophysics isn't detailed enough for you.

What a shame - but thank you! That's quite frustrating as I found out from building control we had stepped foundations a few years back but they have subsequently destroyed all their old building control records and we didn't have the original foundation design. I was hoping to be able to get a record that way but to do this with digging would now mean destroying our property by making holes all over the place! I had hoped there would be some sort of camera that could pick up different densities of material and create a picture on screen but I guess that is science fiction at the moment!

OMG please invent such a thing. It would be AMAZING.

I do use a thermal imaging camera to find joists behind walls, but it wouldn't work on foundations.

Yes, I hope in the future such a thing will exist! Otherwise how on earth can you tell if there is an issue underground??? You look at the surface and scratch you head as to what is going on then make a wild guess???!!!