How to Repair Faulty Foundations with Underpinning
The foundations of your house are vital to the structural integrity of your home. Faulty foundations could lead to serious problems with the building, and the last thing anyone wants is the risk of their home being inhabitable. Thankfully, underpinning can be used to repair faulty foundations before the situation becomes too serious.
Underpinning is a method used to repair foundations and to increase foundation depth – for example, if extra stories are going to be added to a building. Cracks on a buildings walls, floors or foundations are an easily spotted sign that foundations are faulty and underpinning is required.
Mass Pour
The most common method of underpinning is the ‘mass pour’ method. Sections of the faulty foundations are excavated and then filled with concrete, with this process being repeated until the whole affected area has been underpinned. Although this is the most common method, there are others which can be used in instances where this process isn’t possible.
Pile and beam method
The pile and beam method is another alternative method. With this method, a min-pile is installed either side of the affected wall with the brickwork then being removed. A needle beam of reinforced concrete is the used to connect the piles, supporting the wall. The benefits of this method include it being faster and less disruptive to the area of the building than traditional underpinning, and being suitable for restricted areas.
Screw Piles & Brackets
If the excavation would have to be too deep for a mass pour, then the screw piles and brackets method can be used. Screw piles and brackets are installed by a small crew or with a mini excavator, able to support the foundations at deeper levels than other methods.
Using Piled Raft
The Piled Raft method is used when the entire structure needs to be underpinned If the foundations are too deep for other underpinning methods, or the soil is too hard for small equipment to effectively excavate, then piled raft will be used by us to underpin your building.
Dixons Piling
If you can see cracks by the foundations, floor or walls of your home, or if for any other reason you suspect that your foundations are faulty, then underpinning will be required to keep the building safe. At Dixons Piling, we can offer a wide range of underpinning services to get your building’s foundations back to the condition they should be in. We offer a professional, friendly approach which is tailored to each individual customer, taking you through a plan of action before any work begins. If you’re looking for underpinning or other piling services from an experienced team at competitive prices, then get in touch today to get started.