Underpinning foundations may be covered by home insurance
If you’re worried about the cost of underpinning foundations to prevent subsidence to your property, it may be worth checking your home insurance policy.
The Association of British Insurers says the standard excess for subsidence claims is usually £1,000 on buildings insurance policies.
Any cost above that should be met by your insurer – allowing you to enlist the help of professionals in underpinning foundations on your house or outbuildings before subsidence worsens.
To determine whether you may have a subsidence problem, look out for windows or doors that do not close easily, and cracks wide enough to slot a 10p coin into them.
Weather conditions can lead to subsidence – and with much of the UK currently technically in drought conditions, dried-out soil may shift more easily than it otherwise would.
However, even in areas that receive plenty of rain, trees can cause problems for nearby structures.
This is not due to encroachment from their roots, as many people might think, but is because a large deciduous tree can draw 50,000 litres or more of water out of the ground each year.
In essence, this destabilises the ground in the same way as a period of drought.
Look out for the early warning signs of subsidence, and consider underpinning foundations if you think your property may be at risk.
Underpinning foundations safely can help with compliance
Construction refurbishments that involve underpinning foundations could be in the spotlight in the weeks to come as the Health and Safety Executive clamps down on Greater Manchester sites that do not meet the necessary safety standards.
The coming crackdown is focused particularly on sites where refurbishment and repair work is being carried out – such as underpinning foundations to help stabilise older buildings.
Legal requirements state that any work on the structure of a building should be carefully planned in order to avoid unplanned collapse.
As such, underpinning foundations without the right equipment from specialist providers, and without temporary supports in place for the rest of the building, could leave construction firms at risk of breaching their safety obligations.
“The refurbishment sector continues to be the most risky for construction workers, but small changes to working practices can make all the difference,” says HSE principal inspector for construction Neil Jamieson.
Our specialists can offer foundation piling where traditional underpinning is not possible, safely strengthening your foundations through a combination of piling and needle beams in the poorest of ground conditions.
Underpinning foundations can help prevent heaving
Underpinning foundations can help deal with all kinds of soil conditions – and as the cold of winter gives way to the rainy days of spring, ‘heaving’ is one issue that you might encounter.
Soil is subject to a lot of weather-related effects, and we recently told you about expansive soils, which can become unpredictable in particularly dry conditions.
However, when it is especially wet, all types of soil can experience heaving – this is when the level of moisture in the ground becomes high enough that the soil expands significantly, and can literally push foundations upwards out of the earth.
By underpinning foundations, you can tackle this effect by strengthening the position of your structure within the topmost layers of soil.
Alternatively, if you are working on a new construction project, concrete piles can give support to your foundation or basement levels from deeper underground.
When weather conditions are less than favourable, there is the option of using pre-cast concrete piles delivered from off-site.
These offer the strength of reinforced concrete, but are not subject to the vagaries of the weather during their drying time, ensuring that the necessary chemical reactions can take place to make them strong and reliable.
Underpinning foundations can tackle expansive soils
Underpinning foundations is a good way to create stability in soils that are not stable enough to support structures on their own.
Expansive soils are a particular cause for concern – these are where changes in moisture content can make the ground expand or contract by quite a large amount.
Following a fairly dry 2011, soils in many areas are likely to be much drier than they would ordinarily be, making some construction projects unpredictable.
In England, for example, Met Office estimates for the whole of 2011 are that rainfall was just 84% of its normal level.
Even in December, England’s rainfall was down, at 99% of its expected average for the month.
With this in mind, builders could find dry soils are unable to support foundations as well as they ordinarily would do – and some already-completed buildings may well develop foundation problems, too.
By underpinning foundations to help improve their stability, construction projects can be kept on track, and completed structures safeguarded.
With the Met Office forecasting a warmer-than-average year for 2012 as well, the need to underpin foundations could arise more often in the future, as soils dry out and offer less support than they have done in years gone by.
Mini piling helps in compact redevelopments
Mini piling can help in construction work on previously developed sites, which may be surrounded by other developments that make access an issue.
With compact mini piling rigs, tighter access routes can be made viable, while less room is needed on the site itself.
Suburban environments are one example of where properties can be constructed at relatively high densities, putting room at a premium for any future projects.
However, according to a report from Policy Exchange, almost one million people moved away from urban residential areas in the years from 2001 to 2008.
“There are more jobs and higher wages in cities and nearly two thirds of people would prefer to live in the suburbs of urban areas,” the report notes.
As more people move to the edges of cities, this in turn applies renewed pressure to the availability of suburban housing – particularly when developing greenfield sites is not an option due to planning constraints.
With mini piling, even compact plots can be developed to their fullest potential, minimising negative environmental impacts and delivering the maximum benefit to housing availability in the area.
Mini pile foundations perfect for green building
Mini pile foundations are the ideal option for construction where green and sustainable building standards must be met.
Analyst IBISWorld predicts that “revenue will soar” among the leading sustainable building specialists in the coming five years.
Regions with a higher concentration of residential properties are particularly expected to lead this resurgence in activity.
According to IBISWorld, a higher local population typically drives business activity higher, which in turn leads to demand for commercial and industrial properties in the area.
The forecast is based on performance in the US market, but might be expected to be repeated in the UK and elsewhere as growth returns to construction-related disciplines.
For companies keen to ride the green wave, mini pile foundations are one ideal option.
Mini pile foundations can be put in place with compact rigs, making them perfect for smaller projects such as those that might be available in an otherwise constrained market.
Their compact nature also makes them environmentally preferable, enhancing the sustainability of the structure from the moment its first foundations are put in place.
The Benefits of Experienced Pile Driving Contractors
If you find that you need to have piling installed on a building project, it is always best to use experienced pile driving contractors such as MK Piling to carry out the work.
One of the reasons it is so important to use professional pile driving contractors is that there is a range of different piling available. From mini piling to CFA piles, there are different options to suit different jobs. For instance, if noise is an issue on one job it might be possible to use a particular type of piling that cuts down on the noise produced during the process. This is something your pile driving contractors will be able to advise you on.
There are also certain standards that need to be met when installing piling foundations. Any work needs to be signed off by a building inspector and it needs to fall into line with the plans specified for the project by an architect. In order to ensure your project is a success, is completed safely and meets all the relevant regulations, it is vital that you use experienced pile driving contractors.
What is Pile Testing?
If you are working on a site where foundation piling has been used, you might well be able to benefit from pile testing. This is something that can also be useful if you are assessing the condition of already existing piles for a particular building.
The aim of pile testing is to work out the condition of the piles in question and it is sometimes also known as a low strain dynamic test. The test involves applying a light impact to a pile, which produces a low strain on the pile – hence the name. This produces a wave that travels down the pile and the wave is monitored for any irregularities: it should travel at constant wave speed, but voids in the concrete or areas where parts of the piling might have worn away will produce what are known as wave reflections.
The pile testing, therefore, highlights whether there are any issues with the foundation piling that need to be sorted out. The process is normally carried out with a hand-held hammer and is most commonly used on piling that has not yet had a structure built on top of it, although pile testing can also determine the length of existing piles.
Why are CFA Piles Useful?
There are many different types of foundation piling available that can be used in a variety of situations. One of these types is CFA piling, but what is it and why is it useful?
CFA piles are a type of piling that is especially good for use on building sites where there is a need to keep noise to a minimum. CFA stands for continuous flight auger and the CFA piles work on a relatively simple premise.
A hollow auger is inserted into the ground once the necessary depth has been worked out, and then concrete is pumped down the hollow stem. At the same time, the hollow auger is withdrawn and, in order to reinforce the piling, a reinforced cage is used.
One of the benefits of CFA piles is that there is no casing involved and so there is minimal disruption associated with using them. They also help to keep vibrations to a minimum and can be used on large projects, making them a good piling solution for a range of situations.
Different projects will have different piling needs, so it’s important you speak to a piling professional to make sure you get the right solution for you.
What is the Purpose of Underpinning Foundations?
Underpinning foundations are used when the depth of a building’s foundations need to be increased. Normally, small sections of the ground below the existing foundations of the building will be excavated before they are underpinned. This will usually be done with concrete but when the quality of the ground is so poor that using concrete isn’t possible, piling can be used instead.
This allows for some flexibility in difficult situations as there are different types of piling available that can be used for underpinning. Underpinning foundations can be used for a few different reasons. For instance, if another storey is being added on to the building, the existing foundations might not be able to take the increased load and so underpinning will be required. Also, if a house has suffered from subsidence and the current foundations have been damaged or have moved, underpinning foundations could be used to help rectify the problem.
It’s important that underpinning foundations are put into place in the correct manner, or else they could cause damage to the building. This is why it is so important to always use experienced, professional services when making any alterations to the foundations of a building.