The construction process of diaphragm walls can lead to movements in the surrounding area that are seldom taken into account. However, these movements may be important in situations where soft soils dominate. In this paper, after briefly reviewing the state of the art on this issue, we present results of a hydromechanical simulation of the problem in a case located in deltaic soils of Barcelona. The auscultation record of the settlements of a nearby building is employed to validate the computational model. Panel length and bentonite slurry level were found to be the most influent parameters on induced displacements.