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Building a home or structure on a hillside can allow for breath taking scenic views which can also increase the properties value. However not installing a purpose-built foundation or constructing the structure on a slip of a slope can have an adverse effect.
– Construction Quality: Rigorous compaction testing during construction is vital to ensure stability. Inadequate soil compaction can lead to slope instability.
– Soil Composition: Clay soils, prone to rapid expansion and contraction, pose significant challenges. Their slippery nature exacerbates slope instability, increasing the risk of sliding and failure.
– Vegetation Role: Vegetation’s root systems interweave, fortifying slopes and reducing runoff during heavy rainfall.
– Drainage Importance: Effective drainage is paramount for slope longevity. Measures like catch basins and V-ditches mitigate runoff, safeguarding slope integrity against erosion.
We inspect lots of homes each year that are nestled into the hillsides of our beautiful New Zealand landscape. With visiting all these homes throughout the years we’ve become quite familiar with the signs and symptoms associated with a slope that needs repair. These are some of the most common signs of slope movement that we see in New Zealand.
Trees are a unique for a variety of reasons, but unique in the way that grow on a slope. When you look at a tree on flat land it grows straight up. Now a tree that has been planted on a slope still wants to grow straight up to the sun, but if that slope moves so will the tree’s growth trajectory. The tree will start to lean and then start to grow up again. Always chasing the sun!
Just like the trees walls are designed and built to be straight. When the slope starts to move the wall will start to move with the slope and the top of the wall will start to lean towards the bottom of the slope. Sloping walls and fences can be a good sign to show that a hillside is moving, especially if the wall or fence was just built.
As the slope moves it will pull everything that is sitting on top of it, down with it. Your concrete around your home can be greatly impacted by slope movement. It will usually start with a gap forming between where the house and the concrete patio meet. This gap can get wider as the concrete continues to move along with the slope.
A lot of homes that are constructed on slopes have large decks built out over the slope. If the slope starts to move, so will the deck support that are resting on the soils. This can be visually seen by looking at your support posts or by putting a level on the posts to see if they are standing straight up and down. If they are not or if you can see that they are leaning, more than likely they are being impacted by the movement of the slope.
One of our knowledgeable inspectors will draw a scaled diagram of the home and take floor elevation measurements after thoroughly inspecting the property inside and out.
We only move to step two if an issue with the foundation is found during the inspection. Our inspector will design a repair plan specific to the property and the issues facing it. They’ll then provide you with a scaled CAD drawing of your home, a full report on the findings, and a suggested repair plan based on those findings will be provided.
We will engage any other professionals that maybe required, such as Geotech and or council and complete to plan.
Are you ready to learn more about what’s happening with your property’s foundation? Schedule a free consultation with Grace Foundation and ensure your foundation is in the best possible condition. Our experienced repair team will diagnose any issues and apply the appropriate solution to strengthen your residential or commercial foundation.
If a foundation resin injection doesn’t sound like the right option for your foundation, check our other foundation repair solutions and contact the team today.
