Nestled in the stunning, native landscape of Huia, this project required sophisticated structural intervention to prepare an existing home for an expansive, high-end basement conversion. Working with weak, high-plasticity clay soil common to the region, our team executed a highly technical "prop and rebuild" strategy. Rather than relocating the home, we suspended its entire mass on a temporary engineered steel structure, allowing us to safely demolish the outdated, failing footings directly beneath it.
Over a rigorous four-week timeline, we completely re-engineered the site from the underground up. By combining innovative chemical soil stabilization with heavy-duty blade piles driven up to 12 metres deep, we solved complex geotechnical challenges that others walked away from. The result is a property with absolute structural peace of mind, fortified against the elements, and ready to be built out into a premium, functional environment.
Executed over an intensive four-week timeline in February 2026, this Huia structural project began by carefully removing the subfloor baseboards to safely transfer the home's weight onto a temporary steel support structure, allowing for the complete demolition of the original foundation. Our team then carried out precision earthworks to remove 50 cubic metres of soil before implementing an advanced chemical stabilization process, using lime to transform the weak, high-plasticity clay into a rock-solid, water-resistant base. To guarantee maximum structural integrity in the challenging terrain, we drove engineered blade piles as deep as 12 metres into the ground, laid compacted aggregates, and erected specialized formwork complete with a Damp Proof Membrane (DPM), insulated polystyrene pods, and reinforcing steel. The project culminated in the flawless pouring and screeding of a high-strength concrete slab, followed by the erection and core-filling of a robust concrete block retaining wall. This highly engineered foundation creates a fully legal, structurally sound, and bone-dry footprint, meaning the basement can now be seamlessly turned into a beautiful, usable, and completely liveable space such as a luxury master suite, a premium home office, or a self-contained apartment.
