Underpinning Repair

Cracks in your house walls can be a sign of the shifting of the ground beneath your foundations. The ground beneath your foundations is constantly in a state of change. In most cases, this change is not visible. It is vital to understand this ground change and to make sure that your building is structurally sound.

Sinking floors and uneven floors are usually caused by voidage that then leads to subsidence. This means that the ground beneath your flooring may be moving in response to a variety of factors such as un-compacted fill, voidage from compromised plumbing services, such as storm water, sewer, or leaking water mains. This will result in the moisture content of the soils changing: in reactive clays, this will result in the ground expanding and contracting forming voids; and in sandy loams and sands, these factors will contribute to washouts, again compromising the load bearing.

Subsidence is one of the biggest problems in modern construction. It can arise through a number of different circumstances including changes in water tables, reactive clay soils and damage to the surrounding vegetation. As the ground shifts, the concrete that it supports will often be affected. Understanding the symptoms of subsidence is key to preventing it. This blog looks at the symptoms of subsidence to help businesses spot problems early.