Ludo Verlinden
After three consecutive dry summers, cracks appeared in the walls of Ludo Verlinden’s house and veranda in Sint Katelijne Waver, Belgium. The drought had caused the clay soil to compact, resulting in the house’s foundations subsiding. Using the URETEK DeepInjection® method, the foundations were raised back to their original level and stabilised.
“It wasn’t just the dry summers and the parched clay soil that caused the subsidence,” explains Ludo Verlinden. “It’s highly likely that the presence of large trees in the neighbourhood also played a part. Cracks began to appear in the walls, which over time turned into fissures. The fissures on the side of the house and in the veranda wall, in particular, became very large. To prevent further damage, I started looking for possible solutions. Through various channels, I ended up at URETEK.”
Nervous times
“After a fruitless legal battle with the local council over the role of the trees, I took the plunge and commissioned URETEK to repair the subsidence. The cracks in the walls have become considerably smaller and some are no longer even visible. No new cracks or fissures have appeared, but we’ll have to wait and see for a while longer. As long as the trees remain standing, no one can guarantee that it will stay that way. That is a bit nerve-wracking.”
No disruption
“I’d expected the work to cause disruption and to involve large machines and a lot of noise. It wasn’t nearly as bad as I’d feared. During the two-day operation, I was able to stay at home as normal. I’m certainly satisfied with URETEK’s work and have therefore recommended their solution to local residents.”
Watch the Pano programme on drought. This programme features the work carried out on this house.
