We rescued a deteriorating farmhouse wall

Project: Barn and farmhouse refurbishment at Curly Tail Farm in Norfolk

HA Consulting Engineers was required to provide structural engineering design and remedial solutions for the residential refurbishment of 2 buildings.

The small barn on site required a complete feasibility study to convert it into a residential unit, whilst the farmhouse was in urgent need of remedial work before the addition of a new extension.

When Issues Arise

The main issue with the new development was as follows

  • The most urgent challenge faced by the engineering team was the occurrence of severe damp in the farmhouse walls, which lacked a damp proof course.
  • Due to excessive ground water in the shallow and waterlogged foundations, the brickwork had absorbed large amounts of water and was reverting to its original clay state.
  • Before HA Consulting Engineers could begin work on the refurbishment of the structure a solution needed to be found to prevent the building from collapsing.

One of the main issues with the refurbishment work was the building’s shallow foundations, which sat in ground water

Proposed Remedial Actions

To save the walls from destruction we performed these steps

  • We devised an underpinning method to isolate the exposed bricks from the saturated ground, forming a barrier between the masonry and the source of moisture.
  • Hydrophilic strips were used to separate the floor from the source of ground water and the floor was sealed with waterproof concrete.

We installed a completely waterproof substructure underneath the building to separate it from the damp

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