subject: Important Things About Structural Repair [print this page] The most important thing about any structural repair is that it is absolutely necessary that trained and professional men are involved. An architect, land surveyor or structural engineer should be conferred with if there are indications of severe damages and faults in a property, especially if you are planning to work on it as a renovation project. It is not sensible to depend on the suggestions of an untrained person.
If the walls are starting to budge or develop cracks, but the foundation is still sound, this is much easier to deal with. Aside from anything else, rehabilitation can be done above ground, which is cheaper as well. For several years, the standard procedure of strengthening of buildings under risk was the use of tie bar, the holding ends of which can be often seen on old structures. This is a metal bar inserted straight through the house, frequently in a loft or running across the ceiling and floor, so that it is not obvious enough. The bar is thread at each end and cross- or S-shaped plates are put over the end and then secured by a nut, pulling the two walls back together.
A modern counterpart of using tie bars is to insert smaller diameter reinforcing rods into the mortar bed of a wall, going across the length of the wall and around the corners if needed. This keeps them from being seen, as they can be covered up with mortar after installation. If a wall is leaning out from the other wall, then anchors can be driven into the wall, and if possible, pull it straight back.
Also an essential part of structural repair, foundation repair typically means strengthening, which is removing the supporting earth or other material around the structure while it is held up by temporary bars. Once sound, the foundations are fortified by putting concrete around them. Underpinning can also be carried out by driving in strong steel rods, which are secured to the structure or the foundations. This structural repair method is called piling.
Occasionally, especially in household structural repair scenarios, it is difficult to have access to the foundations to dig the material off and get the needed equipment close enough. In these cases, injected foundation reinforcements can be used. There are different systems available on the market, but they operate in similar ways.
Holes are punched in around the property in strategic locations and a specialized polymer is injected into the ground at various quantities. This type of polymer expands once in contact with earth, roughly about thirty times its original volume. This creates tremendous pressure, which surrounds and supports the existing foundations. This method of structural repair is apparently less disruptive in residential structures and typically cheaper.
