Why Treating Subsidence Is a Vital Process

Written by Posted On Monday, 26 March 2018 06:36
Cracked Wall due to subsidence Cracked Wall due to subsidence

Why Treating Subsidence Is a Vital Process

Subsidence can be real challenge. From cracks in walls to ineffective drainage and sticking windows to uneven floors, there’s a lot of work that needs tackling head on. It may even be that there’s too much to do to know exactly where to start and many people have put off doing anything for a while either down to money, time or exhaustion.

Leaving subsidence untreated though is never a great idea and in most cases, you could be making the problem worse. Whether it’s a commercial or residential property, there are a number of reasons to get your foundations repaired as soon as you notice a problem.

Protect Your Property’s Value

Subsidence affected property may witness a severe decline in both structural and financial value. When buying a home, many people take the advice of structural engineers and if any problems are found, the appeal of your property is almost automatically stung.

In most cases a prospective buyer will either walk away or drive the asking price down to at least minus the cost of repairs. You’ll be out of pocket in either scenario.

Reinstate Your Aesthetic Appeal

Most people won’t look at a building and admire the brickwork too much. They will however be drawn to any obvious drawbacks and subsidence usually provides a major one. One of the primary indications is cracks appearing in walls, both inside and out, and these can sometimes be so evident that it appears that the bricks are moving away from each other. There’s also the chance that your property will be visibly leaning to one side which of course isn’t a good look outside of Pisa.

It’s unlikely that you’d want your home to appear as though it’s about to topple and ground repair can sort this quickly and somewhat easily.

Safeguard Structural Integrity

Even if you don’t know what structural integrity is, you can get a pretty good indication from the name. It is basically a measure of how capable your building is of staying solid and not collapsing – a measure that untreated subsidence can greatly impact.

Subsidence is usually caused by shrinking and expanding soils which aren’t capable of amending themselves. With insufficient support, foundations become more and more susceptible to sinking and damage and can eventually result in the building coming down in the most extreme of cases.

Preserve Pipe and Electrical Systems

As subsidence can cause your building to lean and sink, your property’s interior systems can be pulled out of place and stop working correctly or potentially even pose a hazard. The most obvious are your plumbing and wiring networks.

Not only is there an increased risk of flooding and electric shock and even fire, the longer it is left, the more they can be dragged and the more it will cost you to get rectify the situation.

Conserve Visitor Safety

Visitors to homes, commercial buildings and infrastructure can potentially be in harm’s way which can lead to grave consequences if the unthinkable was to occur.

This is a problem that doesn’t even need to be there either. Simply having foundation repairs carried out as soon as you’re aware they need to be done can make your building as safe as it’s ever been.

Find an Immediate Resolution

Whilst it may be true that subsidence can bring about dire results, many of them are completely avoidable as long as the problem is dealt with efficiently and properly.

Subsidence remediation isn’t free by any stretch of the imagination but in the long run, it could end up saving you both money and stress. Underpinning property is the usual fix but more recently, many people are turning towards the alternative injection techniques. Geopolymers and specialised resins are pumped directly into foundations offering a quicker and cleaner method.

Whichever way works best, amending the complication early is vital to continuing with a stable building.

Rate this item
(0 votes)
Tieece Gordon

I enjoy writing and keeping the house in top shape. I sometimes combine the two!

https://www.twdg.co.uk

Realty Times

From buying and selling advice for consumers to money-making tips for Agents, our content, updated daily, has made Realty Times® a must-read, and see, for anyone involved in Real Estate.