Hello @pemba
Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community. It's sensational to have you join us, and thanks for sharing your question about the gap in your wall and the brick pavers.
This appears to be damage caused by flowing water. You can clearly see how the sand foundation has been washed away leaving only the solid base underneath. I suggest doing a bit of an investigation and lifting the brick pavers around the house to see how far the damage has travelled. Generally speaking, it is the water run off that must be addressed first. Is water running under the pavers and causing a wash away effect?
Once the rainwater flow and drainage have been addressed, you can now address the gap between the wall and the pavers. It is difficult to tell how far the damage has travelled and how far it has eaten into the foundation of the house. I propose engaging the services of a builder and structural engineer to assess the damage. It could be minimal damage, and you caught the issue early, but it if has been going on for months or longer then it might have travelled further into the foundation of your house.
The builder and engineer will be able to give you advice about what possible steps to take in order to repair the damage.
Let me call on our experienced members @Nailbag and @AlanM52 for their recommendations.
If you have any other questions we can help with, please let us know.
Eric
Hi Eric,
Thank you for your advice.
I will remove the brick along the sunken area and maybe upload some more pictures, so that i maybe able to get more insightful feedback from your side as to how i can go about fixing.
Thanks again.
Hi @pemba
It’s difficult to determine the extent of the damage but it does look substantially deep. I would be inclined to get a decent plumber in to establish the cause first before attempting any type of repair. If not water damage it may require a civil engineering company to investigate.
Nailbag.
Thank you for the advice.
Hello @pemba,
Interesting that the aircon drip pan outlet is directly above and I'm going to ask some random questions.
Have you been living there for a while.
When did you first notice those pavers.
Is that a reverse cycle unit and currently used for heating.
With the aircon running dose it drip into that hole.
Cheers
Hi @AlanM52 ,
We have just lived hered here for little over 1 ½ yrs. The aircon is connected to the master bedroom,but we haven't used it since living here.
Noticed the pavers dipped when recently, i pulled out the brick and did not see any water damage. In the picture below,you can see there is quite a gap between the foundation and the red drainage flashing.
Let me tag @AlanM52 as well to make them aware of your answer. It still appears to me that water has passed through this section at one point carrying the sand away. Please continue to remove the pavers and see how far the gap travels along the side of your house.
Hi @pemba,
Interesting... there appears to be no water damage?
Grab your garden hose remove any fitting and direct water into the paving grate - check the hole?
With safety in mind when using a ladder shove the hose into the downpipe - check the hole?
Let us know the results.
Hi @Nailbag @AlanM52 @EricL ,
I removed the brick, the gap between is anywhere from 5inch to almost 15 inches.
Any advice would be appreciated.
Thanks
I would definitely contact a local civil engineer to have a look as thats a very deep hole runnings along the length of the sideway. It's more than just a result of a standard water leak.
Nailbag
Hi @Nailbag
Thank you for your advice. I'm pretty new to the Greenwith area,but would enquire around for a civil engineer.
Thanks 🙏
I agree with @Nailbag's thoughts @pemba. Definately worth calling in the professionals on this one.
Mitchell
@MitchellMc
Thank you for the feedback.
🙏
Hi @pemba,CC: @MitchellMc , @EricL , @Nailbag
Looking at the last two photos I am going to stick my neck out and say I know what the problem is.
Your house is on a clay base which is drying out causing the soil to come away from the foundations.
You will need someone like a structural engineer to access the situation and provide a report.
@AlanM52
@MitchellMc @Nailbag @EricL
I have just enquired with an engineering firm for an onsite consultation with structural engineer regarding the gap. I'm waiting for an quote and will take it from there. Thank you all for advice.
Thank you
@AlanM52 @MitchellMc @Nailbag @EricL
Please can you give me a rough estimated cost i should expect for onsite structural engineer consultation cost.
I would highly appreciate.
I'll answer for @EricL and @MitchellMc as they are not online, but I know what their response would be.
Unfortunately, this is not something we could provide because the going rate for a structural engineering report is not the same everywhere, and there are simply too many variables.
You could be looking at anywhere from $300 to $3000. The only way you can really know for sure is to contact structural engineering firms that operate near you and ask them to quote.
Let me know if there is anything else I can assist with.
Jacob
@JacobZ
Thank you for the clarification, i will reach out to local firms for quote.
Appreciate your time.
Have a great weekend.
