Susan Slater noticed a few weeks ago that the back door to her Arlington Avenue bungalow was catching on its frame.

Now, it's scraping on the floor, and her 10-year-old son can't budge it.

"It's almost impossible to open," Ms. Slater said Wednesday.

"It takes both my hands and several good tugs."

She blames rock blasting a few blocks away, where the Fairmount Ridge subdivision is under construction. She suspects it has shifted her 45-year-old home.

Daily explosions have become part of life since August for area residents. City staff have recorded 185 blasts in 29 days.

Ms. Slater said she never had any problems with her door before the blasting - even in severe humidity.

She said she has also noticed several new cracks in her foundation, including one that has started to allow water to seep into her basement.

"It's not a coincidence," she said.

Coun. Linda Mosher (Purcells Cove-Armview) said about 45 people from the area have complained to her and 100 directly to the city about similar damage.

She said one recent explosion sent rocks spraying about 17 metres in the air, landing on the roof of a nearby school.

"It looked like a mushroom cloud from a nuclear bomb," she said.

"It was unbelievable."

Another explosion sent a three-metre length of rubber blasting mat, used to keep rocks down, flying into another schoolyard, she said.

Ms. Mosher, who also lives in the area, said the explosions make her two dogs cower and have caused cracks in her ceiling.

They also spew dust into the air that could be toxic because of materials dumped at the vacant site over the years.

"It makes me mad," she said.

She met with provincial Environment Minister David Morse on Wednesday to discuss the problem.

She wants the city to revoke the blasting permit of the company doing the work, Consbec Inc.

And she points to three charges against the company in August for violating the blasting bylaw.

But Jamie Gill, a manager of Consbec, said the charges arose when work was just beginning because crews were still getting a feel for how powerful an explosion was necessary.

He said no debris scattered into nearby schoolyards.

He heard complaints from three people blaming his company for damage to their homes during the summer - before blasting had even started, he said.

Mr. Gill said area residents had grown used to the site being empty for years and are likely complaining about the blasting to stop the development.

"I'd probably be upset too," he said. "Blasting does disrupt people."

But it's not causing extensive damage, he said.

His company will investigate all complaints and "make amends" if it's responsible, he said.

Ed Thornhill, the city's manager of permits and inspections, said his department has kept a close eye on the site.

"We knew it was going to be a challenge to keep the community happy," he said. "There's always potential for damage."

But some people might be finding previously unnoticed damage to their homes that occurred before the blasting, he said.