Garage Stabilisation
Geobear was contacted by a customer whose garage, attached to his property, had experienced significant movement over time. The movement had resulted in evident cracking in the walls of the property and sinking of the slab. The cause of the problem was the compaction of the existing fill over time and weakening soils beneath.
Our role was to stabilise the ground beneath the left and rear garage walls and concrete slab so the homeowner could complete a refurbishment and add a new conservatory to the rear. As the conservatory was a lean-to, they needed to ensure the garage was stable and no further movement would occur to protect the integrity of the new building.
Why Geobear
One wall of the garage on the property ran adjacent to the neighbouring garden. The alternative solution was traditional underpinning which requires extensive excavation and a break out of the slab. Using a conventional solution would take many months of unwanted building work, and the customer would have lost use of his garage.
Furthermore, the builders would have required access via a neighbouring garden to complete the works with an underpinning solution, which was not feasible.
Geobear Solution
The solution proposed would utilise the geopolymer injection process and could be implemented within one day.
A Geobear Area Manager visited the property and conducted an assessment of the site. The site inspection findings were used to create a treatment plan for the property approved by the Geobear engineering team. The treatment plan proposed to drill and inject Geobear geopolymer beneath the slab and supporting walls at 1m centres to a depth just of 1m.
On the day of the work, the Geobear technical delivery team arrived on-site at the specified time and firstly conducted a risk assessment and ensured necessary safety measures were in place. They then followed the treatment plan to deliver the works. The first stage of the plan was to drill the specified holes, which would accommodate 14mm steel tubes. The technical team then inject a multi-component geopolymer into the ground beneath.
Geobear has a range of 27 geopolymers. The material is specifically chosen to suit the conditions and requirements of the project. All materials have expansive properties and, once injected into the site, will expand to fill and strengthen the area.
A specific quantity of material is injected into each location and monitored using laser levels. The lasers measure any lift to the floors or walls; when 0.25mm is indicated by the lasers, the injections to that specified area stop. The process follows until the complete area has been treated in line with the plan.
The area was fully stabilised for this property, enabling the homeowner to complete his refurbishment and proceed with the conservatory build. In addition, Geobear provided the customer with a certificate of structural adequacy and insurance backed guarantee, required should the homeowner come to sell the property.
