Jacob Munneke of the Reformed Church in Nieuwe Pekela:
When cracks appeared in the listed Reformed Church in Nieuwe Pekela, it became apparent that the brickwork foundations did not provide sufficient load-bearing capacity. The floor had also subsided and the stained-glass windows had come loose, causing the glass to shatter. It was time for action, in the form of the URETEK DeepInjection® method.
“After an investigation, it turned out that part of the foundation had subsided,” explains Jacob Munneke, administrator of the Reformed Church in Nieuwe Pekela. “So it was essential to resolve this problem first, before we could start repairing the cracks and the windows. We found URETEK via Google.”
Two options
“URETEK’s technique appealed to us, but we wanted to know what other options were available. That’s why we also sought advice from the Groninger Churches Foundation. It came down to a choice between a very expensive new foundation support system using steel beams, or the URETEK method. The first option was about three times as expensive as the second, so we opted for URETEK. What’s more, this method involves no excavation or construction work: the job is done in a single day, without any mess or hassle. Very straightforward, with virtually no drawbacks.”
A good feeling
“Before they started, the URETEK team stuck strips of duct tape over the cracks. This meant you could see immediately what was happening whilst the work was in progress: the cracks were getting smaller. Measurements taken by URETEK showed that the subsided floor had risen by 7 cm. Now it’s just a matter of waiting and seeing. Since URETEK were here, we haven’t noticed any changes and we hope the foundations remain stable. We feel positive about it.”
