Commercial properties come in all shapes and sizes. From a local corner store to a 3000-location fast food chain, there’s almost nothing similar between these two types of commercial properties, apart from one thing: their foundation.
All commercial buildings have foundation, and many commercial property owners encounter foundation challenges at one point or another.
While commercial foundation challenges can be unsettling for owners, the sooner we deal with them, the less costly and stressful they are. Here, Techniblock discusses navigating Melbourne’s commercial foundation challenges.
Moving foundation
The biggest challenge faced by foundation experts is generally movement of the foundation. This is because foundation is something that should, ideally, never move. So, what causes moving foundation?
Abnormal moisture conditions
Either the lack of moisture or increased moisture conditions, are the biggest cause of moving foundation. When abnormal moisture conditions exist the soil under your foundation, it causes the soil to expand and contract. The more the dirt expands, the more pressure is placed on your foundation. Expansive soils also shrink when they dry, removing support from your foundation caused by soil shrinkage.
The back-and-forth of swelling and shrinking causes repetitive stress on your foundation, making it weak and causing it to move.
Deep, soft soil
Soil challenges also need to be met head-on when facing commercial property foundation issues. Deep, soft soil is often a struggle for both residential and commercial foundation work. This type of soil forces foundation experts like us to dig deeper and deeper into the soil until solid ground is reached. If your commercial foundation team fails to achieve this, your commercial structure will encounter serious stability issues and require underpinning in the future.
Tree roots
Tree roots present a huge commercial foundation problem in drying up moisture in the ground. We know what you’re thinking: excess moisture is bad, so shouldn’t tree roots actually help foundation? Well, no, not exactly.
Excess moisture is one part of the problem, but the drying up of that moisture is another part. It’s the repetitive cycle of increasing and decreasing moisture which causes your foundation to shift. Tree roots can exacerbate this issue, as they drink up moisture from the earth’s soil. If large tree roots are growing next to your commercial building’s foundation, they’re likely impacting the structure of your building in this manner. In addition, tree roots often invade storm water or sewer pipes searching for a water source and this can add to the problem. The roots block the drains causes them to hold water then in the summer increase the drying affect. This is a big contributing factor in foundation distress. What we want as foundation layers is total stability with no change in state or seasonal moisture content.
If you’ve got commercial foundation problems, contact the team at Techniblock. We’re Victoria’s leading team in foundation construction and repair. And for commercial buildings, we’re your number one choice of specialists. We’ve built countless structures on soil like clay and sand, driving piles deep into the ground to get your foundations solid as a rock. Promising a meticulous job at an affordable price, don’t let anyone else but a Techniblock expert lay your foundation. Grab a quote today.