The Institute of Structural subsidence engineers defines subsidence as “the downward movement of a building and foundation caused by the loss of support of the site beneath the foundations.”
It’s important to note that Subsidence is typically DOWNWARD movement while Pyrite consists of upward heave movement.
The term itself is quite commonly known in the public domain and unfortunately can be the scary word applied to any type of subsidence cracking occurring to buildings.
The Insurance Industry common policy wording describes the Subsidence occurrence as an and is an insurable peril within typical household insurance policies.
We provide permanent subsidence repairs to properties in Ireland every year. We are Ireland’s premier provider of subsidence and Ground Engineering solutions. Our expert team have built a strong reputation in all areas of Ground Engineering with a specialist approach to foundation design, investigation and subsidence repair.
We represent home and business owners for the Domestic, Commercial and Insurance markets. We have over 15 years’ experience working with satisfied clients in terms of successful settlement and remediation.
“To give you an insight into what we, as Consulting Subsidence Engineers, do when appointed by property owners when a potential Subsidence crack, subsidence repair and other issue arises, we carry out the following:
Internal cracking be it vertical or horizontal, cracking of floor slabs, doors getting stuck in door frames
Cracking and separation of driveways and paths from
structures such as the building’s external cracks in walls and kerbing.
Cracking of footpaths around manholes
Cracking in walls
Some hairline cracks may be just a result of building settlement, particularly in newer
buildings. Cracks relating to subsidence should be either side of wall, and typically are:
Doors/windows sticking
Uneven floors
Building tilt
Most household insurance policies cover ‘subsidence’ to some degree. We can review your
policy for you to see what cover, if any, is in place.
Firstly, we will visit the site, to meet with you, inspect the property and establish whether or
not we believe subsidence is present. If we believe it is present, we will arrange a CCTV drain
survey, and/or a Leak Detection survey. We will compile a report with our findings. If you
are happy for us to do, we will negotiate on your behalf with the Insurance Company/Loss
Adjuster/Assessor.
To fix the problem, you will need to engage the services of a specialist engineer and a
subsidence contractor. The specialist engineer will survey the building, and design an
engineering solution tailored to the issue. The damage is usually remediated by pressure
grouting under foundations, installing mini piles, or a combination of these.
The cracking may be not be as a result of subsidence. Fine, hairline cracks are usually not
subsidence related. These can be related to concrete shrinkage. We can discuss options
with you on site to remediate the cracks.
Banrach Consulting Engineers are appointed by Solicitor firms, Loss Assessors, consulting practices to investigate and prepare reports and represent in court as Expert Witnesses for Fire Loss, Flood Damage, Accidents, Boundary Disputes and Poor workmanship.
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