Foundation repair (Funderingsherstel) has been recognised by the Dutch government as a national concern as more than 400,000 property owners in the country are living in sinking houses and buildings. In February of this year, the Council for the Environment and Infrastructure (Rli) discussed at a press conference that the scale of the foundation problem urgently needs a national rescue programme.
Apparently, the gradual caving in of lands has been getting worse during the past 20 years. More so now that the different rainfall patterns caused by climate change resulted in longer periods of drought or flooding.
Why Some Properties in The Netherlands are Sinking?
The sinking or caving in problems faced by some 400,000 real property owners in Holland are occurring in the large tracts of land reclaimed from the sea known as polders. As it is, the polder increased the country’s land area by about 20%, on which were developed as residential properties. The dikes and walls built to drain out water from the low lying land also served as barriers to prevent water coming from the North Sea from flooding the area.
However, the occurrence of climate change during the past years has resulted in the rise of sea levels. The barriers and polders helped in the management of water only for a short time as their design did not take into account the accumulation of the sediments in the outlying river bed. The accumulation of sediments throughout the years caused the river bed levels to rise beyond the levels of the low-lying polders.
As a result, river water that should have flowed back into the sea without problem was also flowing into the low-lying polders; causing the gradual subsidence or caving in of the reclaimed properties.
Worsening Subsidence Problems Gave Rise to Clever Solutions and Foundation Repair Specialists
Actually the subsidence problems occurring in the large parts of the Dutch country are being addressed by foundation repair companies. The specialists at the Funderingsherstel company for one, have been solving foundation problems in the Netherlands during the past 25 years. The company’s subsidence specialists have been solving foundational problems, from the design up to the execution of the solutions. Over the years, they have been contacted by owners of houses, apartment complexes and massive buildings located in the low lying areas.
Property owners have been faced with unstable foundations that caused frontages to split, created zig-zag cracks in floors and brickworks. caused falling ceilings, and ill-fitting doors and windows. Such foundational problems have actually made the houses unlivable, requiring restoration solutions mastered through the years by foundation repair specialists.
The Funderingsherstel company actually uses the innovative screw injection piles method of foundation repair. The technique involves the screwing of piles into the ground while simultaneously injecting the fluid-like metal into the gaps and spaces as a means of strengthening the foundation. It’s a vibration-free technique that enables the specialist to tackle the foundation problem without worrying about producing a vibration force that could affect the stability of the building and of the other buildings in the area.
