PACKING VOIDS AND LEVELING THE FLOOR SLABS

Construction on challenging soils is always fraught with risks. In this project, engineers encountered the consequences of improper foundation preparation on challenging terrain, which threatened to undermine the integrity of the entire building.

Reason for contacting: The slab has split into two parts.

The homeowner sought help after discovering critical deformations in the floor:

• Due to uneven settlement, a difference in levels formed between parts of the slab. The concrete floor of the house sankand his pThe floor of the litas was actually divided into two independent parts.
• Large voids were found under the concrete foundation, depriving the structure of the necessary support.

Technical Survey: The Treachery of the “Burn-Up Bog”

The problem with this property had deep roots in the pre-construction stage:

1. The house was built on reclaimed marshy land. Such areas are characterized by extremely high humidity and weak bearing capacity of the underlying soil.
2. To level the site, backfill with sand was applied. However, due to insufficient layer-by-layer compaction (tamping), the sand began to “compact” naturally under the weight of the building and the influence of groundwater.
3. The high humidity of the marshy soil contributed to the washing out of small particles of sand, which accelerated subsidence and led to the fracture of the slab.

Technical solution: Deep consolidation and alignment

GeoResin’s engineering department developed a restoration plan based on the phased introduction of geopolymer compounds.

1. Deep Lifting Method

The first priority was to strengthen the sand cushion and the underlying soil. The geopolymer displaced excess moisture (the hydrophobicity of GeoResin is critical for marshy soils) and compressed the sand, turning it into a dense composite mass with high load-bearing capacity.

2. Floor Lifting Method

Once the foundation was stabilized, engineers began restoring the slab itself. The compound filled the entire space between and beneath the two parts of the broken slab, restoring 100% of the contact area with the ground. Through controlled expansion of the material, the subsided portion of the slab was gradually raised to its designed level.

Benefits of project implementation for the owner

A key feature of the work in the Kherson region was the ability to carry out complex repairs in a residential building:

• Without stopping operation:The family continued to live in the house. The GeoResin method does not require removing furniture, finishing surfaces, or evicting residents.
• Cleanliness and eco-friendliness:The absence of heavy equipment and wet processes (concreting) ensured cleanliness on site and inside the buildings. GeoResin geopolymer compounds are environmentally friendly and do not react with groundwater.

Results of completed work

As a result of engineering intervention:

1. The subsidence process has been stopped.
2. Pthe floor castings again received monolithic support, and itsthe surface has been returned to design levels.
3. The formed geopolymer array provided long-lasting protection from the effects of wet, marshy soils.

Working with sand backfill in a swamp is always a challenge. However, thanks to geopolymer injection technology, we were able to not only “support” the slab, but also modify the physical properties of the soil, making it resistant to future loads.