On Hilary Road in East Acton, a vacant council house was in dire need of repair and stabilisation due to subsidence at the front and rear of the property. Hammersmith and Fulham London Borough Council called in Geobear to treat the subsidence quickly and efficiently so that people could be homed in the property as soon as possible.
Project background
The property that Geobear was tasked with repairing was a council house that was currently standing vacant due to structural issues. The council had identified large internal cracks on the walls, indicating the existence of subsidence.
Upon carrying out a site investigation, Geobear determined that the building was experiencing subsidence at both the front and the rear. This was being caused by a large nearby tree, whose roots had grown underneath the foundations of the house, removing water from the soil. As the soil was clay-based, this removal of water had caused the soil to shrink, destabilising the foundations.
Alternative solutions
The traditional solution to this issue would be underpinning. However, with 17 metres of elevation subsiding, the process of excavating and underpinning the property would have been a major task, taking a minimum of two weeks to complete.
With lots of people on council housing waiting lists, Hammersmith and Fulham London Borough Council needed a faster solution than this. They turned to Geobear.
Geobear’s solution
Geobear were able to treat the subsidence issue on Hilary Road in just two days. After surveying the property, they used their unique geopolymer resin method to stabilise the soil beneath. The resin was injected into the ground beneath the tree roots, where it expanded to compact the soil above and restabilise the house’s foundations.
Instead of excavating the ground, all that was required was a few small holes in the ground through which to inject the resin.
As long as the tree continues to be properly maintained to prevent any further significant root growth, it shouldn’t cause any more subsidence problems.
Why was Geobear chosen?
In this case, it was important for the client to get the subsidence fixed as quickly as possible so that the house was habitable again for new tenants. In this respect, Geobear was the clear choice – needing only two days compared to weeks that traditional underpinning would take.
In addition, Geobear’s solution caused minimal disruption and was a more cost-effective solution for the council compared to the alternatives.
Hammersmith and Fulham Borough Council was very happy with Geobear’s quick and affordable solution to the subsidence affecting their property and have since commissioned Geobear for more social housing projects.
