Renovating a House with Subsidence and Wall Cracks
๐๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐พ๐๐ช๐จ๐
It's really important to find the actual cause of the cracks, so that any repairs will last and cracks don't re-appear again and again.
๐๐ญ๐ฅ๐๐ง๐ฉ ๐๐ฃ๐๐๐ฃ๐๐๐ง ๐๐๐ฅ๐ค๐ง๐ฉ
That's why the owner of this Carindale house called Forensic Engineers to prepare an expert Structural Engineer Report.
Our expert investigation found old and recent subsidence & cracks, and footing settlements as well as footing rotation (leaning). We also identified that the house was built on an old gully that had been filled in and the landfill was subsiding bit-by-bit, year-after-year and this was causing the house cracks.
๐๐๐๐ฉ ๐ฉ๐ค ๐๐ค ๐๐๐ญ๐ฉ
Our expert Structural Engineer Report found that Stabilizing the footings and permanent wall crack repair would require underpinning of most of the house footings with conventional underpinning.
๐๐ค๐ง๐๐ฃ๐จ๐๐ ๐๐ฃ๐๐๐ฃ๐๐๐ง๐จ ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐๐ง๐ ๐ฉ๐ค ๐๐๐ก๐ฅ
Home renovations are expensive, so if there are any worrying wall or ceiling cracks, it's really important to make sure the foundations are stable by getting an expert independent Engineer Subsidence Report from Forensic Engineers from the get-go
Subsidence & Wall Cracks: Underpinning Free Home Assessment was Wrong
EXPERT ENGINEER WALL CRACK & SUBSIDENCE REPORTS: FORENSIC ENGINEERS ARE HERE TO HELP!
FORENSIC ENGINEERS ARE HERE TO HELP!
Wall, ceiling or floor slab cracks may be simple wear & tear, or they may be a sign of something more serious.
It may Subsidence that has occurred in the past and was not serious and has stopped. Or it may be serious Subsidence that could be getting worse and worse.
And there are also cases where subsidence & cracks have cleverly been covered up, particularly with houses that are renovated & "flipped".
Forensic Engineers are the subsidence experts and are here to help!
Expert advice from Forensic Engineers: Our expert Structural Engineer Reports identify old and new subsidence and cracks and determine if they are serious or wear-and-tear.
And we identify if they are likely to get worse and if any stabilizing or underpinning is necessary.
Peace-of-Mind; Building cracks can develop due to normal wear & tear or from foundation movements and Forensic Engineers are the independent experts to turn to for an expert analysis and for peace-of-mind.
Structural Engineer Reports - Every Day
STRUCTURAL ENGINEER REPORTS - Every Day.
Case #1; a Townhouse in Pimpama
This unit had wall Cracks and we found they had occurred some time ago, had not grown and were not serious. The townhouse is sound-as-a-pound!
Case #2; a house at Paradise Point
A column that had settled and fractured. Very soft sands and a leaking storm drain were the causes and the footing needed underpinning. Problem solved!.
Case #3; a house in Silkstone
The house had some footing movements which were not serious. Thank goodness, because Silkstone is renowned for highly plastic clay soil which can cause serious foundation movements and house damages. Peace-of-mind for the home owner.
Case #4; a unit in Annerley
A unit with some scary ceiling cracks which were were not serious and simple to repair. Patch and paint only required.
Inspection #5 was in Brookwater
An insurance claim where a car had crashed into a retaining wall and fence. Our investigation for the insurer found the the damages to the retaining wall were limited to one post being pushed sideways. Post & footing needed replacement and the wall wales could be re-used. The insurer and the home owner were very happy with our report.
Expert Structural Engineer Reports - Every Day
COOMERA WATERS SUBSIDENCE DAMAGE
SUBSIDENCE, WALL CRACKS, STRUCTURAL ENGINEER REPORT.
Home owners, buyers and sellers with house subsidence or wall crack problems
Subsidence Investigations Require Soil Testing Knowledge
๐๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ๐-๐ผ๐ป ๐ฆ๐ผ๐ถ๐น ๐ง๐ฒ๐๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ฒ๐ ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ ๐ถ๐ ๐ฎ๐ป ๐ฒ๐๐๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ถ๐ฎ๐น ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐พ๐๐ถ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐บ๐ฒ๐ป๐ ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐๐ป๐ด๐ถ๐ป๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ฆ๐๐ฏ๐๐ถ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ & ๐ช๐ฎ๐น๐น ๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ธ ๐ฅ๐ฒ๐ฝ๐ผ๐ฟ๐๐.
And Forensic Engineers Staff have decades of that experience, having previously worked in;
- soil test drilling
- soil lab testing
- oil descriptions
- site classifications
- footing and slab designs; strip, pad and edge beam footings, conventional and waffle pod slabs
- deep footing piering; conventional concrete piers, push-piles, small diameter driven timber piles and steel screw piles
- Foundation Underpinning; conventional concrete, polyurethane resin, timber piles and steel screw piers.
๐จ๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ -๐๐-๐๐๐๐, ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐
- areas with highly plastic clay soils
- poorly compacted land fill
- alluvial deposits
- compressible soils
- organic and acid-sulphate soils.
๐ข๐๐ฟ ๐ต๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ๐-๐ผ๐ป ๐ฒ๐ ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ; real soil testing experience and skills.
It is essential that any engineers offering subsidence reports actually have local Queensland experience in soil testing and geotechnical behavior.
Very Important: When deciding on an engineer for a subsidence & wall crack inspection, make sure the engineers have actually done field and lab soil testing themselves.
With over 5000 cases completed in the last 12 years, and decades of actual Soil Testing, Site Classification and Slab Design hands-on experience, Forensic Engineers are the best choice for Structural Engineer Reports for subsidence and house foundation problems.
Wall Cracks, Subsidence, Underpinning, Structural Engineer Reports
HERE ARE SOME RECENT CASES;
Sink Holes, Subsidence, Voids under Footings & Slabs
These are common foundation issues we investigate every day.
Be alert.
Act now.
Peace-of-mind
Strata and Body Corp Engineer Reports, Wall Cracks, Subsidence, Underpinning
๐๐ผ๐ฑ๐ ๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฝ & ๐ฆ๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐๐ฎ ๐๐ป๐ด๐ถ๐ป๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ฅ๐ฒ๐ฝ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ ๐ฆ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฎ๐น๐ถ๐๐๐!
In this recent case, the Body Corp called us in to investigate and report on this townhouse with subsidence and wall cracks and gaps that were getting worse and worse.
It turned out that other engineers had previously looked at the building and had decided that subsidence had occurred in the past and had stopped and and the damages were not serious and could be patched and painted. Sadly, they were wrong.
CALL FORENSIC ENGINEERS!
We found that the townhouse was actually located on ๐น๐ผ๐ผ๐๐ฒ ๐น๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ๐ณ๐ถ๐น๐น that was gradually ๐๐๐ฏ๐๐ถ๐ฑ๐ถ๐ป๐ด, bit-by-bit, year after year. And stabilization with ๐๐ป๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฝ๐ถ๐ป๐ป๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ฎ๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ผ๐น๐๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป.
In this case, Resin / Chemical Underpinning was not considered appropriate and Steel Screw piers would be far too expensive and unnecessary.
The most reliable and cost effective method was with conventional underpinning using reinforced concrete piers and head-stocks.
๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ถ๐ฐ ๐๐ป๐ด๐ถ๐ป๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ผ๐ฑ๐ ๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฝ & ๐ฆ๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐๐ฎ ๐ฆ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฎ๐น๐ถ๐๐๐.
- Our service is first class
- Quotes in hours
- Inspections and reports in days not weeks.
- And very competitive rates.
๐๐ป๐ฑ, ๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐ฏ๐ฟ๐ถ๐น๐น๐ถ๐ฎ๐ป๐ ๐ฆ๐๐ฟ๐๐ฐ๐๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐น ๐๐ป๐ด๐ถ๐ป๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ฅ๐ฒ๐ฝ๐ผ๐ฟ๐๐ ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐ณ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฑ๐ฎ๐ฏ๐น๐ฒ, ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ฐ๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ, ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐๐ ๐๐ผ ๐๐ป๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ญ๐ฌ๐ฌ% ๐ถ๐ป๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ป๐.
