Is your rental property out of level?

Whether your rental property foundation has had long term issues, or you noticed changes after a big flood season last year, it’s never too early to remedy subsidence.

This will be relevant to many Aucklanders whose properties have experienced extreme cycles of weather conditions in recent years. Soils across the region have swelled with heavy rains and shrunk in the dry seasons, leading to an increase in house subsidence.

Josh Lunny, Area Sales Manager for the Auckland region at Mainmark New Zealand, has seen an influx of these enquiries lately. In particular, “rental property owners usually want to know about the impact on tenants, as traditional methods of underpinning are known for being lengthy and disruptive. It can take weeks of excavation to manually jack the house with concrete and bottle jacks.”

“By comparison, Mainmark can come in, do the work and leave without disturbing the tenants, usually in a day or two. Most of the time, they can continue living in the house,” he says. In addition to saving time, this can also bring down the costs of repair work.

Many residential areas in New Zealand are built on low lying flood plains, so most homeowners or property managers would benefit from being proactive and looking out for signs of subsidence during rental inspections.

Homeowners or renters should look out for cracks in their walls, windows jamming, or doors that won’t close properly because of settlement. While a small crack might not cause concern, anything longer than five millimetres could indicate that the house is moving more than it should.

Another sign is gaps where your walls meet the floor, which could indicate a sinking or damaged foundation. Sinking concrete floors or slabs are a warning sign for serious and ongoing structural damage caused by subsidence.

The team at Mainmark has raised, re-levelled and re-supported homes, buildings and structures for over 35 years. Our technologies and qualified technicians ensure minimal disruption and prevent further damage while re-levelling your home in a quick and timely manner. 

Unlike other systems that require the use of jacks and heavy machinery dragged through the property, Mainmark’s Teretek resin injection solution and JOG Computer-Controlled Grouting methods are non-invasive. The Teretek process will re-level your house and improve the ground immediately underneath without excavating large holes around the perimeter (as with underpinning) or through the floor in the process. 

Larger homes benefit from the use of the JOG Computer-Controlled Grouting solution which re-levels and strengthens ground beneath large structures using computer-controlled cement grout injection. 

*The extent of work completed varies by site and will be discussed with the customer