On 02/05/2021 08:55, Andy Burns wrote:

Jeff Layman wrote:

another cost which might have to be added is that of hotel/renting if
the house owner has to move out while the underpinning work is being
done.

Back in the 70's we lived upstairs while underpinning was done by
pumping concrete under the floors (part estate was built on land that
hadn't been drained/filled properly).

Living upstairs in a bungalow isn't really an option! :-)

From the full info we have on the underpinning and what the previous
owner told us, the work took the best part of 6 months to complete. All
load-bearing walls - external and internal - were underpinned. That
required removing floorboards, and sorting out pipes and drainage.
Redecorating was also required where necessary. Not only were the
footings reinforced/replaced, but as part of the stabilisation process
all around the outside walls are concrete rafts, 2 - 3 metres long, 80
cm wide, and about 12 cm thick. The previous owner said that in total
(including living in temporary accommodation) the cost was £60K!

When we had the survey done, the surveyor said that if one property in
the road was not going to move it was this one.

One other point of interest is that when we had a conservatory built (60
cm brick walls with cavity), both the architect and structural engineer
recommended footings which matched those used for the underpinning. This
added a considerable expense (the footings are almost 2m deep!), but
they said that this would mean that if there was any movement, the
conservatory would move with the bungalow, and wouldn't come away from
its walls. With the extreme droughts we seem to be getting now, and with
a neighbour's house showing signs of subsidence, I'm satisfied we made
the right decision.

--

Jeff