Ever felt like the ground beneath the floor in your home is sinking?
Maybe you’ve found the flooring in your workplace has developed a distinct unevenness or sloping? It could be a telltale sign of subsidence, meaning an urgent call to a ground consolidation specialist like Resinject is crucial to maintaining the structural integrity of your property.
But what does subsidence mean, and how does it affect you?
If you find yourself asking ‘what does subsidence mean?’, let us explain! Subsidence is essentially the downward movement of the ground underneath your property. If that ground sinks or collapses, the foundations of your home or place of business will go with it. This can leave your house, commercial or industrial workplace, civil site or mining site in a precarious position structurally. The cost of fixing subsidence can become significantly high if left too late.
It’s important therefore, to know the causes of subsidence cracks and any potential signs that might indicate your property is at risk. You can then have a building subsidence repair specialist assess your property as soon as possible.
What Causes Property Subsidence?
Ground subsidence can be caused by a number of different factors. These factors can be naturally occurring or the result of human involvement. Among the potential causes are:
- Flooding and excess water – poor drainage or leaking sewage or stormwater pipes can increase the moisture level in the soil. The excess water can cause the soil to soften, which in turn results in the occurrence of subsidence.
- Extreme weather – major weather events such as floods, heavy rainfall and drought can lead to the cracking or softening and sinking of the soil your property is built on.
- Type of soil – different types of soil react to the elements in different ways. Reactive clay typically swells when moisture levels increase, and cracks during extended durations of dryness. Water flow can cause the finer granules in sand or silt-heavy soil to wash away, enabling the settlement of larger grains. Large volumes of water flow can also cause soil comprised of multiple materials, such as aggregate or compressed construction waste, to settle after causing the finer particles to break down and decompose.
- Tree roots – any plants or significant tree roots growing near the property will draw the moisture from the soil. This can undermine the balance and stability of the soil and increase the likelihood of subsidence.
- Foundation footings – Substandard foundations, whether poorly designed or inadequately constructed – particularly if the soil hasn’t been sufficiently compacted to create a stable footing – can result in subsidence.
- Construction – vibrations from excavation or construction work taking place in close proximity to your property can cause the soil to shake and become unstable.
These factors are equally as capable of causing subsidence underneath any type of structural property, whether residential, commercial, industrial, civil or mining. While knowing the natural and man-made causes of subsidence is important, being able to identify the signs of subsidence is equally as valuable.
Signs of Subsidence on Your Property
There are numerous indicators that your property has become vulnerable to subsidence. These signs can present themselves at any time; they might become apparent relatively quickly, or it might be a more gradual process. If you notice any of the following signs of potential subsidence, it’s important that you have your property assessed by a ground consolidation specialist as soon as possible.
Cracked walls
Sunken or sinking concrete
Sunken or sinking foundations
Jammed doors and windows
Holes and voids
Unlevel structures
Driveways
Footpaths
How To Fix Subsidence
If you’re asking yourself ‘can subsidence be fixed?’, the short answer is yes. Fixing subsidence as soon as possible is crucial for numerous reasons.
The longer you wait to fix subsidence cracks or unevenness in the floor of the property, the more your property is likely to drop in value. Major faults or problems with a property, such as an uneven floor or cracks in the walls, will almost certainly be an issue with potential buyers. The cost of fixing subsidence can also skyrocket if left too long as well.
Resinject offers a cost-effective and non-invasive method of fixing subsidence in houses, commercial and civil buildings, and mining sites. We inject our RSJ170 resin into the ground in the areas affected by subsidence. The resin expands outwards and downwards and significantly enhances the ground’s load bearing capabilities – better for the foundations of your property and the property as a whole.
Recent Subsidence Repairs we have completed
Benefits Of Fixing Subsidence with Resin Injection
Resinject provides property owners with a smart and sustainable building subsidence repair solution with the use of our non-toxic, Australian made RSJ170 resin. The process offers a multitude of benefits that include:
- Cheaper than other traditional underpinning methods
- Non-invasive process that requires no major excavation
- Efficient process that normally takes less than a day
- The RSJ170 resin strengthens the ground, filling any holes that have formed, and compacting the founding soil
- Closes up cracks in the walls
- Foundations and floors become level again
- Frees up any doors or windows that have jammed
The process is backed by a 50 year warranty, so you can rest easy knowing you’re truly supported.
See what some of our recent clients had to say!
I have cracks everywhere, Resinject lifted and levelled all the cracks. Great experience…
Laura E
Huge shout out to Richard and the team, they were professional and skilful. My floor is looking great…
Melissa B
As a Strata Manager I can confirm Resinject are a brilliant company to work with. Takes the stress out of managing properties…
Jan B
It is now more than two months since Resinject stabilised the foundations of my old house and I couldn’t be happier with the results…
Carolyn S
Resinject level several floors in a few warehouses I own. They are a great company to work with…
Brett P
My experience with these guys has been nothing but first class. From my initial inquiry through to getting the job done…
Graham C
Here’s why you should choose Resinject to repair your Subsidence Repair
Combined 100+ Years Experience
50 Year Product Warranty
Licenced
Builders
Certified Australian Resin
ISO Certified 9001, 14001, 45001
Here’s how our Subsidence Repair process works
By injecting our resins, compromised soils will be consolidated and stabilised, allowing for permanent wall repair. Our approach involves:
Prepare
Our experts drill a series of tiny holes in the affected area
Inject
We inject our specially formulated Poly Urethane Resin
Expand
Our Resin fills the voids, hardens instantly which compacts the ground
Result
The area is instantly reinforced and even re-levelled if required
Frequently Asked Questions
Subsidence is the downward movement of the ground beneath your property, which can cause the foundations to shift or sink. This may result in uneven floors, cracks in walls or sticking doors and windows.
Subsidence can be caused by changes in soil moisture, tree roots, poor drainage, erosion or construction activity nearby. These factors weaken the ground and affect the stability of your home’s foundations.
Settlement usually happens soon after a home is built and is a normal part of the structure settling into place. Subsidence is more serious, it involves the ground beneath a property sinking or collapsing, which can compromise structural integrity.
It depends on your individual policy and provider. Some insurance policies may cover damage caused by subsidence, but it often requires a structural assessment and clear evidence of the issue.
Leaving an unstable structure can cause further issues. By having an early assessment/treatment, will save further costs and lessen further damage from occurring.
Most residential jobs are finished within a few hours. Bigger projects may take over a day; your Structural Consultant will discuss the time frame as part of the free site assessment and quoting.
Only a licenced builder has the knowledge and experience required to assess how a building’s internal structure is going to react to ground consolidation and stabilisation.
With over 100 years of combined experience, Resinject exclusively uses an Australian-engineered resin that can be injected to depths of up to 6.5 meters when needed, ensuring proper re-support is installed. We do offer a 50 year guarantee against shrinkage with our product.
Injection depth can be critical to ensuring long-term ground consolidation. Each situation varies and the injection depth is determined by the state of the ground and or dependant on geo-technical reports. That’s why we inject our resin at multiple and different depths varying between 800mm and 6.5m.
If there are utility services in close proximity to the injection points, we may have to clear some areas for a visual inspection. Otherwise, only small holes are drilled to allow our product to be injected. These are sealed with non-shrink grout upon completion.
Subsidence repair cost varies from job to job as each job is different. When you call Resinject, one of our specialists will complete a comprehensive assessment of the affected area on your property. They will determine the best course of action and provide you with a no obligation free quote for the job.
