Foundation Piling in Portobello

Why Portobello keeps us busy

Every working week we are somewhere in Portobello, often within a short walk of Portobello Promenade and Joppa. The building stock here has its own character, and the ground beneath it has its own habits. Knowing both is the difference between a fix that lasts and a repair you have to revisit.

Portobello's terraces back onto soft sand and the old railway alignment. Where surface water and sandy subsoils meet aged Victorian drains, washouts and minor settlement crop up regularly.

Foundation Piling done properly

Ground investigations show soft made ground for several metres, or the existing strip footing has failed and a deeper solution is the only honest answer. Standard concrete underpinning will not reach competent ground. Going deeper with hand-dug bays is slow, dangerous and expensive.

Mini-piling. A restricted-access rig drills piles to the design depth, the piles are tied into a reinforced cap, and the cap picks up the wall above. Loads end up on solid ground without weeks of excavation.

Three things Portobello owners get from us

• Local context. We know which streets in Portobello sit on made ground, which ones drain badly, and which ones have a tree problem. The first visit reflects that.
• Engineer-signed work. Every scheme we put in is signed off by a chartered structural engineer before any tools come out of the van.
• Reports your insurer recognises. Cause, scheme, photographs, costs. The format the loss adjusters in this city already know.