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Goulburn heritage listed Federation bungalow repaired and stabilised
Our Brief
The owner of this Goulburn heritage listed Federation bungalow couldn’t find anyone local to carry out our specialist repairs at an affordable price. Eventually, he got in touch with us. Despite living far away from his property, the owner of the Federation bungalow was well aware of its structural issues due to communications with the tenant.
Gaps between the rooflines and the supporting walls had revealed themselves and been growing – to the point that the lead flashing had come apart. This was an easy spot upon our arrival. As we carried out our inspection the extent of problems in the structure became clear.
Our Challenge
After a thorough inspection of the heritage listed property, we found the source of the damage. A disconnected down water pipe from the roof had caused water to soak into the ground for years. The abundance of liquid had caused damage to the footing of the heritage listed structure, resulting in the subsidence of the walls.
As the walls sunk, they had come away from the roofing, causing the gaps between the rooflines and the tops of the supporting walls. This was also the cause of the lead flashing breakage. We also found the gable wall of the bungalow had begun twisting to a dangerous extent due to the sinking. Ultimately, soil erosion and footing damage was the source of the bungalows structural challenges.
Our Solution
As the walls had sunken so dramatically, the walls needed to be releveled first. The gable wall was of particular concern due to the twisting. Using our own special re-lifting techniques, we were able to close up the gaps between the rooflines and supporting walls. The lifting created voids underneath the walls and also revealed heavily eroded and aerated soil.
To remedy the damaged soil, we quickly restabilised the ground with our very own geopolymer resin solution, GeoPoly™. Our resins did a fantastic job of giving the walls a stable, solid foundation to sit on. Any wall cracks we found in the structure, especially the gable wall, were stitched up with our HelicalBar™ masonry beam systems. For the final touch, we gave the walls a fresh lick of paint for an aesthetically pleasing finish. A local plumber reconnected the bungalow’s damaged drainage to stop more water from running into the ground and damaging the footing.
The Outcome
With safety restored to this heritage listed Federation bungalow, both the tenant and owner are now confident in the knowledge the walls are rock-solid stable. We also saved the Federation bungalow owner a small fortune as well as months of time without knocking any parts of the structure or removing a single brick.
