Remedial foundations and structural repairs with awkward access

Spotting the signs of subsidence

A dwelling owned by the Peabody Trust had developed signs of subsidence and STRESS were approached by insurers to try and solve the problem of how the remedial work could be done with the rear wall of the property adjacent to busy Network Rail Lines and the left and right flank walls inaccessible.

Stabilising the foundations in a challenging location

The restrictions on erection of scaffolding imposed by Network Rail together with the time scale and cost for permits and additional insurance pushed STRESS to find an alternative solution to that already designed by consulting engineers.

Designing a specialised structural repair and reinforcement solution

Do everything from inside. Strip out all ground floor rooms of fitted furniture and units, take out the staircase, remove the suspended concrete ground floor, and install temporary support frame to provide vertical and lateral bracing. Stress designed a bespoke pile and beam system to underpin the rear and flank walls and stabilise the foundations from inside the structure. Next was to repair the badly cracked brickwork to rear and right flank walls. As no external access was available, this meant taking down the inner leaf of blockwork in sequence and repairing the outer skin from inside using masonry reinforcement and crack bonding before rebuilding the blockwork.

Completing the stabilisation works to a high standard of finish

The cosmetic works to then commence to rebuild the internal floors, walls, finishes and fittings and return the dwelling to original status for the tenant to move back in.