The major sign of subsidence is cracks in walls. Cracks caused by subsidence are normally of a diagonal nature and will suddenly appear in plaster work inside the building and on brickwork outside.

They will usually be thicker than fine hairline cracks, which may be caused by natural movement of a structure, and tend to be wider at the top.

Not all cracks are due to subsidence – fine, hairline cracks are usually nothing to worry about. Subsidence cracks to be wider than a ten pence piece.

Floors can drop. It’s quite clear to spot this – take a look at the skirting around the floor. If you find gaps, cracks or uneven surfaces your property is likely affected.

You can also look for possible signs of subsidence around weak points in the building, such as doors and windows. Doors and windows can stick or fail to open and close properly due to the building moving from its original foundations.

Building extensions can help detect whether subsidence is a problem. Subsidence cracks are common at points where an extension meets the main buildings, indicating that the extension is pulling away from the main structure and that an intervention may be required.

We can inject our geo-polymer material beneath an extension to stabilise it and prevent further movement, and in some cases also lift it back into place.

The principle of our solution involves injecting one of our expanding geo-polymer materials under your property. The material is pumped into the soils as a liquid and expands under the ground.

As the geo-polymer expands it fills the voids in the soils, forces out any water and compacts the soil – this results in a solid stable base under your property’s foundations or floor.

As the material expands in the ground it will follow the path of least resistance until it cannot migrate any further. At this point, the expansive force of the material begins to push up onto the foundations of the property.

We can see when this happens using our laser monitors, which pick up 0.25mm of movement above the injection point.

If we are stabilising the ground we will stop the process at this injection point and move on to the next. We inject at points at around 1.5m apart to ensure the material is equally spread under the problem area of your property.

If lifting the floor, we continue injecting material at the injection point until the floor is lifted to the required level.

The material we use does not degrade — it is a permanent solution comparable to concrete. The process of introducing our geo-polymer to the affected area is faster and cleaner for all types of subsidence.

Cement grouting requires heavy machinery and your property becomes a full worksite. The same applies to screw pillars and underpinning. They all require the excavation of foundation soil. With Geobear, we simply drill small holes and inject our material. Using geo-polymer as a solution to subsidence is the most convenient method and in most cases the preferred option. Other methods, such as underpinning delivered by traditional building contractors, are becoming dated as modern technology evolves.