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Leicester Underpining and Foundations
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Further Information on Underpining and Foundations
If you are unlucky enough to need underpinning work in Loughborough then you have come to the right place. Underpinning is the process of strengthening and stabilizing the foundation of an existing building. Typically the work involves digging short lengths of trench alongside and under the existing foundations then putting in deeper foundations. It was to be done in short lengths so that the danger of collapse is avoided. There have been cases where people have tried to do underpinning themselves and ended up demolishing their house. We are unaware of any cases of this is Loughborough, but you have been warned! Underpinning may be required for a variety of reasons: Typically the original foundations that the building was constructed on were simply inadequate, this is more typical of older buildings where the ability to accurately design and construct foundations was not available. (And any buildings with really bad foundations have probably fallen down anyway). However in the past it was known to use timber in foundations (hardwood covered in pitch tar if you were lucky) and over time these can simply decay. Another possibility is that the use of the building has changed, maybe an extra storey is required and the existing foundations, although adequate for the building previously will need to be strengthened. Another possibility is that the characteristics of the ground have changed. Or even the climate. During long hot summers clay soils can dry out and this will affect the foundation. Plants, especially willow trees, also change the soil be removing water which makes the ground shrink, however you may wish to discuss with your under pinning engineer if the removal of the tree will solve the problems of poor foundations.
From a technical view point underpinning is accomplished by extending the foundation in depth (making it deeper than before) or in breadth (making it wider than before) so that the load is either resting on more compact ground in the case of deeper foundations or over a wider area in the cases of broadened foundations. Unfortunately all of these processes, because of the difficulty and the labour element tend to be expensive. So if you need underpinning in Loughborough then speak to an expert company or engineer for professional advise.