Our South West office which services the South West of England and South Wales was contacted by a well-established property management company who currently manage and maintain a number of blocks of residential flats and holiday lets on the sea front in West Bay, Dorset.
Subsidence is a common structural defect which puts structures in serious jeopardy and at risk of collapse.
Subsidence is common across the South East of England and in areas where the ground conditions are formed up of clay. Clay absorbs lots of moisture during wet periods causing it to swell and lift the foundation and once the ground dries it shrinks back to its original state or smaller which causes the foundation to drop.
There are other causes of subsidence such as vibration from machinery, road traffic, trains etc. As well as vibration other factors such as changes in the water table, failed drainage or incorrect foundation types and depths.
Newman’s are specialists in carrying out subsidence repairs using bed joint reinforcement and piling solutions in order to repair structures with minimal disruption.
That phrase is commonly heard within the Newman’s office, being a common problem to Victorian and Edwardian built properties we are able to offer modern methods of structural repair to prevent and restrain outward movement.
Bowing walls are caused by a lack of lateral restraint, which allows the masonry panels to move independently often outwards severely weakening the structural integrity of the property.
This is often evident at the levels of the masonry where the floor joists run in accordance to the floor and ceiling joists. Tying into the floor and ceiling joists is essential in repairing and restraining the movement and traditional tie bars which are visible on many period properties are no longer required.
Newman’s utilise the Twistfix Heliforce system providing lateral restraint by inserting 1.0m, 1.5m or 2.0m ties into the floor and ceiling joists with a resin fix into the brick work providing an almost invisible repair once aesthetic brick repairs have been carried out. Incorporating lateral restraint ties with helical bar creating deep masonry beams and replacement wall ties remove the need for expensive intrusive and dangerous remove and rebuild techniques that may have been previously used.
Author: Jon Newman
Posted:
Categories: Bowing Walls