Underpinning is the process by which builders strengthen existing foundations that are already in place beneath buildings. Underpinning needs the most scrupulous attention to detail, including fully observing safety procedures and conscientious planning, to ensure good results.
The process has to be taken very seriously. If you don’t get it right, your building could collapse. That’s why it’s so important to find the right company to do the job.
Underpinning is usually required when a building is prone to subsidence, or the soil structure has deteriorated and the original foundations are no longer strong enough to hold up a building. It can also be needed when an extra floor is to be added to a structure whose foundations can’t take any more weight.
When it comes to underpinning, there’s usually no time to waste. Almost every job is a rush job.
Here at G A Taylor Brickworks we have 40 years of expertise in providing first-class underpinning solutions in the Brighton and Sussex area. Our hands-on services are ideal for a wide range of domestic and commercial property problems, however large or small they may be.
Whatever the circumstances, this is work that has to be done carefully to avoid introducing serious problems for the future. It’s always better to be safe than sorry. Apart from reinforcing foundations so that can bear additional storeys, the solutions we supply cover every type of subsidence, where soil conditions have upset the foundations and could be making walls and floors sink.
To ensure that the underpinning we carry out is the perfect fit for the job, the technique we use is usually straightforward. There are often clues in the original structural engineer’s drawings as to the situation we’ll find down below, so we’ll start with those. Then we simply dig down to expose existing foundations and are thus able to make a decision as to whether to insert piles, steel beams and/or concrete depending on the kind of problems we find we are faced with.
Once we’ve made our excavation, we are in a good position to know what to do next. If it’s a simple case, we’ll go for the traditional, tried-and-tested underpinning method which is known as Dig and Concrete. This involves removing cubes of earth from beneath the property and systematically filling them back in with concrete. Much of this work can be done by hand, meaning labour costs are kept to a minimum, and clients can often continue to use the building whose foundations are being reinforced.
If the situation is more complicated – where soil conditions are poor or it’s hard to get at the foundations or where there’s obvious contamination on site –mini-piling might be required which is a slightly more complex process. In every case, using high-density concrete, rest assured we can solidify the area so that your building becomes entirely safe and secure.
G A Taylor Brickworks guarantees clients a highly motivated local team dedicated to achieving high-quality work at a very affordable price. Our highly trained building experts project-manage and deliver high-quality underpinning foundation work on-site so that our customers can enjoy real peace of mind. We also feel our construction crew is the very best in the area.
We have numerous successful local projects behind us and our can do attitude ensures smooth running right from the initial quotation through to the completion of the job.
Do you have an underpinning project in Brighton or somewhere else in the South East area? Give us a call today. You’ll be glad you did.
