Browse Forums Renovation + Home Improvement 1 Feb 21, 2019 9:49 pm I was thinking about extending my house by adding a new level on top of the existing. I got an engineering report of current house condition before making any decision. The report is showing a Settlements in one corner of house in category 3. Below is the part of report: 4.0 FLOOR LEVELS (Carpet wear causes variations) We took levels on the floor (some illustrated) which shows that there are some general slight movements, some possible slight heave (lift) of the ensuite, plus settlement of the east wall of the main bedroom. Currently all level variations are within the allowed tolerances of 2870 appendix C and table 4.1. 5.0 CRACK CATEGORIES All cracks and gaps are less than category 2, and the gap in the W.I.R wall would be category 3 in accordance with AS2870-2011 Appendix C. 6.0 CAUSES OF CRACKING 6.1 Settlements/landfill The property was filled at the eastern end and it is expected that the slab was supported with piers through the landfill. It is possible that some loose material in pier bases has compressed over time and this has caused settlements and damages. 6.2 Foundation soil movements: Our local experience indicates that soils of the area are known to have a high shrink- swell capacity and this can cause footings and slabs to settle and lift subject to moisture variations. Footing and slab settlements can also occur if the soils become saturated. 6.3 Drains :There are drains at the south side of the house and it is possible that some of them are leaking and seepage is causing movements of the foundation soils. 6.4 Patio floor – land fill settlements .The patio slab extension is located on landfill placed behind the boundary rock retaining wall and gradual consolidation of this material is causing the slab to settle out of level. I am so concerned now about this report. what is your thought and recommendation? Do you believe that adding another story on top of existing one can get the situation worse? Re: Foundation issue/ Movement 6Feb 25, 2019 2:09 pm A Geotech company needs to do some soil testing and also to look at your foundations and the material below them to judge whether you need underpinning to support the exisiting house as well as the upper storey or design the upper storey to be supported on independent footings.You will need more information than just levels. Have look at your house plans and you will probably find that brick articulation joint has been missed. Maximum allowable spacing is 6M or 5.5M for a wall with window… 17 20513 Are they stumps or screw piles ? How much fill is there, is the site a class "P" ? A "H2" site is not supposed to have stumps it is supposed to have grid beams according… 1 6918 House movement is always a potential problem and there is a cause. Yes you should have it inspected by a competent and experienced building consultant 2 7006 |