Underpinning

Movement in the walls or the floors of an existing building can occur for many reasons. The building could originally have been built on poor ground or foundations, a broken drain could have washed away some of the supporting ground beneath the foundation or perhaps the ground has suffered shrinkage as growing trees take out more and more moisture. Movement can vary between a few minor cosmetic cracks to movement that renders a building uninhabitable. The vast majority of problems that require underpinning fall into a category somewhere between these two extremes.

The basic principle is the same as with the mini piled foundations whereby the load of the problem building is transferred from the current unsuitable ground to a deeper level where strata of a suitable bearing capacity is found.

We use mini piles to provide all of our underpinning solutions. These are suitable where ground conditions are so poor that traditional underpinning methods cannot be used. There are several methods of underpinning that utilise mini piles. These solutions use a combination of piles together with needle beams and/or rafts to stabilise the existing structure. Mini piled underpinning work can in most cases be carried out either inside or outside the affected building allowing for as little disruption as possible.

For further information on our underpinning solutions or to discuss any potential costs please Contact us.