Wall Cracks growing
Our structural engineer inspection for the owner of this Wellington Point house found;
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Gradual footing settlements were slowly progressing, year after year, and seriously damaging the house.
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The cause could be traced back decades to when the house was built.
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The original site preparation included cutting and filling, which had pushed loose landfill to one side of the building platform, and the house footings were not dug deep enough to properly support the house on one side.
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The original site clearing had involved removal of very large trees, and this had disturbed the soil to considerable depth.
Our structural engineer report found that the best way to stabilise and fix the house was with conventional, reliable underpinning utilising reinforced concrete piers.
Other methods such as steel screw piers were more expensive, and urethane resin was not applicable in this case.
Mehrtens Underpinning & Construction did brilliant work with the underpinning, and all of the building repairs were included in their scope.
Sink Hole at Taigum, Serious House Settlements at Kuraby and Subsidence at Mermaid Waters
๐ ๐ช๐จ๐ฉ ๐ ๐ฉ๐ฎ๐ฅ๐๐๐๐ก ๐๐๐ฎ ๐๐ค๐ง ๐๐ค๐ง๐๐ฃ๐จ๐๐ ๐๐ฃ๐๐๐ฃ๐๐๐ง๐จ.
๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐ง๐ฎ๐ถ๐ด๐๐บ ๐๐ฎ๐๐ฒ ๐๐ฎ๐ ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฆ๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐๐ฎ ๐ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฎ๐ด๐ฒ๐ฟ๐.
- A broken water pipe had caused a large sink hole to form under a townhouse driveway.
- Our investigation found that the slab had not been damaged and we recommended the hole could be filled and the driveway slab re-supported using either Polyurethane Resin Injection, or with hyflow cementitious grout aka "Mud-Jacking".
๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ฏ๐ ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ ๐๐ฎ๐ ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฃ๐ฟ๐ผ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐ ๐ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฎ๐ด๐ฒ๐ฟ.
- This older house had serious movements of the perimeter footings and the stumps under the floor. Most of Kuraby has highly plastic clay founding soils which can cause footings to seriously lift and settle and often "rotate" (lean).
- The footings had moved so much that the timber floor had become unstable and we recommended vacating and comprehensive re-stumping & replacement of the perimeter base and footings.
๐ ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐บ๐ฎ๐ถ๐ฑ ๐ช๐ฎ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ - ๐ถ๐ป๐๐ฒ๐๐๐ถ๐ด๐ฎ๐๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ผ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐ ๐ผ๐๐ป๐ฒ๐ฟ.
- The townhouse complex is located on compressible landfill which has been slowly settling for decades. We identified recent cracks and gaps and serious variations in the floor levels which would be due to active settlements of the founding materials.
- We considered a number of methods for stabilizing the house footings and the only reliable one would be using conventional underpinning, possibly incorporating some steel screw piers where a water table is encountered.
๐๐ ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ ๐ฆ๐๐ฟ๐๐ฐ๐๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐น ๐๐ป๐ด๐ถ๐ป๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ฅ๐ฒ๐ฝ๐ผ๐ฟ๐๐ ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐ฆ๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐๐ฎ ๐ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฎ๐ด๐ฒ๐ฟ๐, ๐ฃ๐ฟ๐ผ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐ ๐ข๐๐ป๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ & ๐ฃ๐ฟ๐ผ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐ ๐ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฎ๐ด๐ฒ๐ฟ๐
Sink Holes, Subsidence, Voids under Footings & Slabs
These are common foundation issues we investigate every day.
Be alert.
Act now.
Peace-of-mind
Wall Cracks, Subsidence, Underpinning, Structural Engineer Reports
Body Corp: Structural Engineer Report, SUBSIDENCE & WALLS CRACKS
Which Underpinning is Best?
๐ช๐๐๐๐ ๐ง๐ฌ๐ฃ๐ ๐ข๐ ๐จ๐ก๐๐๐ฅ๐ฃ๐๐ก๐ก๐๐ก๐ ๐๐ฆ ๐๐๐ฆ๐ง?
๐๐๐ ๐๐๐จ๐ฉ ๐ค๐ฃ๐ ๐๐จ ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐ค๐ฃ๐ ๐ฎ๐ค๐ช ๐๐๐ค๐ค๐จ๐. ๐๐ค๐ฉ ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐ค๐ฃ๐ ๐ ๐จ๐๐ก๐๐จ ๐ง๐๐ฅ ๐๐๐ค๐ค๐จ๐๐จ ๐๐ค๐ง ๐ฎ๐ค๐ช.
๐๐๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ง ๐ฅ๐จ๐๐ : ๐ฆ๐ต๐ผ๐๐น๐ฑ ๐๐ผ๐ ๐๐ฟ๐๐๐ ๐จ๐ป๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฝ๐ถ๐ป๐ป๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐น๐ฒ๐ ๐ฅ๐ฒ๐ฝ๐?
Underpinning Sales reps and underpinning contractors can be very charming and talk very fast. Their job is to sell. But before signing up for any type of expensive underpinning, do yourself a favour and contact Forensic Engineers for an expert, independent structural engineer report. Because we are on your side and ๐๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ปโ๐ ๐๐ฟ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ผ ๐๐ฒ๐น๐น ๐๐ผ๐ ๐๐ป๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฝ๐ถ๐ป๐ป๐ถ๐ป๐ด.
๐ฆ๐๐๐ข๐ก๐ ๐ฅ๐จ๐๐: ๐ช๐ต๐ถ๐ฐ๐ต ๐จ๐ป๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฝ๐ถ๐ป๐ป๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ถ๐ ๐๐ฒ๐๐ ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐ฌ๐ผ๐?
- Reinforced concrete pier underpinning is the industry standard due to their practicality and long-term reliability. This should be your top choice in most situations!
- Steel Screw Piers "Hype": Some charming, chatty underpinning sales reps may go on and on about the amazing benefits of steel screw piers, but in most cases it is just sales-talk.ย Steel screw piers have some benefits in certain applications, but in most residential cases they are not the best option and are often massively over-priced. ๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐๐ ๐จ๐ป๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฝ๐ถ๐ป๐ป๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ have a massive arsenal of equipment and experience and ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ป ๐ผ๐ณ๐ณ๐ฒ๐ฟ the industry standard reinforced ๐ฏ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ฝ๐ถ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐, or ๐๐๐ฒ๐ฒ๐น ๐๐ฐ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ ๐ฝ๐ถ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐, if and when required, and at a realistic cost.
- Polyurethane Resin Underpinning is excellent for lifting concrete slabs that arenโt anchored down. In some cases, it can also be effective for underpinning house footings. But soil conditions and footing and slab design may limit the results. We recommend Polyurethane Underpinning for certain cases every month, so contact us first if you are considering this method for ground stabilization or lifting of footings or slabs.
A structural engineer report from Forensic Engineers will tell you which type of underpinning is best for you.
๐ง๐๐๐ฅ๐ ๐ฅ๐จ๐๐: ๐๐ผ๐ ๐บ๐๐ฐ๐ต ๐๐ต๐ผ๐๐น๐ฑ ๐๐ผ๐ ๐ฝ๐ฎ๐ ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐ฎ ๐ฆ๐๐ฟ๐๐ฐ๐๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐น ๐๐ป๐ด๐ถ๐ป๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ ๐จ๐ป๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฝ๐ถ๐ป๐ป๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ฅ๐ฒ๐ฝ๐ผ๐ฟ๐?
The base industry cost in South-East Queensland is around $๐ด๐ฌ๐ฌ.๐ฌ๐ฌ-$๐ต๐ฌ๐ฌ.๐ฌ๐ฌ,ย depending on the house size and the property location.
๐ฆ๐ผ๐บ๐ฒ ๐จ๐ป๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฝ๐ถ๐ป๐ป๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐น๐ฒ๐ ๐ฅ๐ฒ๐ฝ๐ ๐ผ๐ณ๐ณ๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐๐ผ ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ป๐ด๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐ป ๐ฒ๐ป๐ด๐ถ๐ป๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฝ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐๐ผ๐.
This is convenient, but the downside is, tอhอeอyอ cอhอaอrอgอeอ tอwอiอcอeอ tอhอeอ iอnอdอuอsอtอrอyอ rอaอtอeอ to organize an engineer report for you.
And ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ถ๐ฟ ๐ฒ๐ป๐ด๐ถ๐ป๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐ธ๐ ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐บ, ๐ป๐ผ๐ ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐๐ผ๐. ๐ฌ๐ฒ๐!, ๐ง๐ต๐ฒ๐ถ๐ฟ ๐ฒ๐ป๐ด๐ถ๐ป๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ถ๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ถ๐ฟ ๐ผ๐๐ป ๐ฐ๐ผ๐ป๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐๐ผ๐ฟ who is working for them, not you.ย
Forensic Engineers are the subsidence and underpinning specialists and when we do an engineer report, rest assured that we are on your side.
We are 100% independent and our structural engineer reports are for you - not for an underpinning sales rep.
๐๐ข๐จ๐ฅ๐ง๐ ๐ฅ๐จ๐๐: ๐๐๐ผ๐ถ๐ฑ Unnecessary ๐จ๐ป๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฝ๐ถ๐ป๐ป๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ช๐ต๐ฒ๐ป ๐ฃ๐ผ๐๐๐ถ๐ฏ๐น๐ฒ
In many cases, footings and slabs can be stabilized without resorting to any expensive & stressful underpinning at all. And excessive footing movements can often be reduced by following expert advice. Talk to Forensic Engineers for the best solutions!
Subsidence & wall cracks? Before jumping into expensive underpinning, contact Forensic Engineers for an expert, independent structural engineer report.
Our RPEQ Structural Engineer reports are so good, one Foundation Screw Pier Underpinner has copied our procedures in their marketing!
- Determine likely causes of the damages
- Give descriptive recommendations for actions or repairs
- If any underpinning is required, advise which method is appropriate, approx. locations & number required & approximate costs.
๐๐ก๐ ๐๐๐ ๐: ๐ฆ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ธ ๐๐ผ ๐๐ ๐ณ๐ฟ๐ผ๐บ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ด๐ฒ๐-๐ด๐ผ!
Contact FORENSIC ENGINEERS for an expert RPEQ report for subsidence, wall cracks and underpinning. ๐๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐๐๐ฒ ๐๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ญ๐ฌ๐ฌ% ๐ถ๐ป๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ป๐ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ผ๐ป ๐๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐๐ถ๐ฑ๐ฒ..
Servicing Brisbane, the Gold Coast, and surrounds. Contact us today for a chat about about subsidence and a quote for an engineer investigation and report.
Gaps in window reveals and door jambs
Building & Pest Inspection identified gaps in window reveals and door jambs due to possible subsidence & we were asked to investigate.
Our Structural Engineer Report found that there had been some initial settlements that opened some gaps, but the house was quite stable.
We found that there was no requirement for any structural repairs (underpinning) and the gaps could be sealed where required. Peace-of-mind for the seller & buyer.
Home owners & buyers with subsidence issues can rely on Forensic Engineers for an honest, independent engineer report
Structural Engineer Reports - All in a Day's Work
๐๐ฎ๐๐ฒ ๐ญ; ๐ก๐ผ๐ฟ๐๐ต ๐๐ผ๐ผ๐๐ฎ๐น - ๐ฅ๐ฒ๐ป๐ผ๐๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ต๐ผ๐๐๐ฒ ๐๐ถ๐๐ต ๐๐ฎ๐น๐น ๐ฐ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ธ๐
The owner of a 1970's bungalow was renovating and needed expert advice about how to repair cracked and displaced bricks. We found that footing settlements and rotation was the cause. And we recommended a number of procedures to reduce footing movements and some great methods to repair the damaged bricks.
๐๐ฎ๐๐ฒ ๐ฎ; ๐๐๐ฟ๐น๐ฒ๐ถ๐ด๐ต ๐๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ -๐ข๐น๐ฑ ๐๐ฎ๐น๐น ๐ฐ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ธ๐
House on-the-market with some old subsidence and repaired cracks. Our investigation found that there had been some footing settlements due to loose material in the footings when the footings were poured and also seepage had been softening the founding material. That had been stabilized and the house was sound-as-a-pound
๐๐ฎ๐๐ฒ ๐ฏ; ๐ ๐ ๐๐ฟ๐ผ๐๐ฏ๐ - ๐ฅ๐๐๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐๐ฒ๐ฒ๐น ๐ฝ๐ผ๐๐ ๐ฏ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ๐
We found the galvanizing had been damaged by the concretors during the build, and the post bases had not been "tanked". Cleaning and treating post bases will prolong the life of some posts, but post replacement will be required in the future.
๐๐ฎ๐๐ฒ ๐ฐ: ๐ฅ๐ผ๐๐ฒ๐๐ผ๐ผ๐ฑ - ๐๐ฎ๐ฝ๐ & ๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ธ๐
House with some typical gaps and cracks. We found that the slab had very serious deflections that were progressing and significant underpinning would be required to stabilize the house.
๐๐ฎ๐๐ฒ ๐ฑ: ๐ฆ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ป๐ด๐ณ๐ถ๐ฒ๐น๐ฑ ๐๐ฎ๐ธ๐ฒ๐ - ๐ช๐ฎ๐ณ๐ณ๐น๐ฒ ๐ฝ๐ผ๐ฑ ๐๐น๐ฎ๐ฏ ๐ฒ๐ฑ๐ด๐ฒ ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐บ ๐ฑ๐ฎ๐บ๐ฎ๐ด๐ฒ.
We inspected this house for the buyer. A small section of the slab edge beam had broken away and edge reinforcement was exposed. Our investigation found that the damage was localized and the slab had no significant deflections in this area. Our expert structural engineer report recommended simple cost-effective repairs.
๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ถ๐ฐ ๐๐ป๐ด๐ถ๐ป๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ ๐๐
๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ ๐ฆ๐๐ฟ๐๐ฐ๐๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐น ๐๐ป๐ด๐ถ๐ป๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ฅ๐ฒ๐ฝ๐ผ๐ฟ๐๐
๐๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ ๐๐ฎ๐
House for Sale with Wall Cracks & Gaps?
This house in the Brisbane suburb of Banyo was on the market and buyers were alarmed about wall cracks and gaps.
๐ฆ๐ผ๐บ๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ฎ๐ป๐๐ผ ๐ต๐ฎ๐๐ฒ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐น๐น๐ ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ผ๐๐ ๐ณ๐ผ๐ผ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐บ๐ผ๐๐ฒ๐บ๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐ผ๐บ๐ฒ ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ป ๐ป๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐๐ป๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฝ๐ถ๐ป๐ป๐ถ๐ป๐ด.
A really thorough Building & Pest Inspector recommended contacting Forensic Engineers for an expert investigation.
Our Expert Structural Engineer Report found that the house had some previous movements of the footings and that there were still some ongoing movements and wall cracks and gaps.
But, thank goodness! ๐ก๐ผ๐ป๐ฒ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ณ๐ผ๐ผ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐บ๐ผ๐๐ฒ๐บ๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ฒ๐
๐ฐ๐ฒ๐๐๐ถ๐๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฐ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ธ๐ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ด๐ฎ๐ฝ๐ ๐ฐ๐ผ๐๐น๐ฑ ๐ฏ๐ฒ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฝ๐ฎ๐ถ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐๐ถ๐บ๐ฝ๐น๐ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ฒ๐ณ๐ณ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐๐ถ๐๐ฒ๐น๐.
The property owner and buyer was so relieved, thanks to ๐ฎ๐ป๐ผ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ฏ๐ฟ๐ถ๐น๐น๐ถ๐ฎ๐ป๐ ๐ถ๐ป๐๐ฒ๐๐๐ถ๐ด๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฝ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ ๐ณ๐ฟ๐ผ๐บ ๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ถ๐ฐ ๐๐ป๐ด๐ถ๐ป๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐
