• Stepped horizontal cracking of external masonry.
• Sunken gable end/side of house.
• Pyramid-style cracking above doors and windows.

Welcome

We are a family owned building repair company who have been successfully providing services to insurance companies and local authorities since 1996. We specialise in urgent response repairs on insurance claims where flooding, subsidence and other problems occur.

About Us

Providing quality building work in Hull and surrounding areas our work is anything from small domestic extensions, refurbishment of kitchens/bathrooms, roofing work, house extensions, design and build from inception through to build completion. We carry out works from £50 to £1mil >.

AJ Building (Hull) Ltd was formed in 1996 by the maternal grandparents of Kris Blake who has been the General Manager of the company for the last ten years.

We were recently awarded 2nd Place in the Yorkshire and Humber Constructing Excellence Award Highly Commended for Innovation category, we lost out to Bioethanol Vivergo Fuels Plant whose £350m plant converts the feed wheat – into bioethanol and animal feed. So not bad to come 2nd!





We directly partner to the Lloyds Banking Group of insurance companies; HBOS, lloyds TSB, Sainsburys etc. and operate on a regional basis along with some 40 other companies.
This enables for a personal approach from locally based contractors to deal with insurance claims in their respective regions rather than having a larger national based ‘faceless' single contractor heading up the claim repairs utilising a chain of regional based sub-contractors.

As we work directly for the insurer, decisions can be made more quickly and the communication channel between customer and insurer is not over complicated as there is generally a maximum of 3 parties involved.

Flooding

Flooding can happen anywhere at any time, but depending on where you live you may be more at risk – for instance, if you live near a flood plain, river or estuary.

When dealing with a home or building that has been damaged by flooding we remove all the contents and the building is stripped of water holdings such as MDF timer, softwood joinery fixings, insulation quilt, carpets underlay, plaster board, gypsum based plaster etc. The building ‘fabric' underlying these finishes ie; bricks, block and concrete are then dried using a combination of air moving equipment (commercial fan blowers) and dehumidifiers. Dehumidifiers take the moisture out the building and work better with moving air.

Air movers are positioned to create a ‘vortex' of moving air throughout the building to aid with this so that all surfaces of the building fabric have an airflow over the surface to stop a build up of damp lingering. Where required background heating is introduced to gently speed up the drying process – if a property is dried too aggressively or quickly, remaining building finishes such as plaster and timber can become damaged even if they were not previously affected.

Subsidence

Tell tale signs of recent subsidence damage would be stepped horizontal cracking of external masonry joints in brick and block work. This typically happens around areas of transferred building loads such as windows and doors – for example if the gable end / side of the house starts to sink then fracture cracks would appear in front and rear adjoining walls typically at 45 degree raking angles either upward or downward.

A lack of lateral restraint from the gable to the inside of the house would show lateral movement cracking in much the same way and walls may appear as bulging at weak points.

Pyramid type cracking above doors and windows externally may not automatically mean their is a subsidence issue and may point to a lack of sufficient lintel use, especially in properties where PVCu windows/doors have been fitted in recent years.

Internal subsidence cracks will also show up around weak points in the home where loads from the building are transferred through weak points such as doorways within load bearing walls. Generally cracks of less than 3mm may be seasonal (weather related) and/or thermal cracking and could be due to a poor building design in actual build quality or material choice. Cracks can be monitored to see if they open and close between winter and summer / dry and wet periods.

Depending on the plasticity of clay subsoils a property can suffer from bad cracking during a prolonged dry summer and then ‘recover' where the cracks close up again during a wet winter – it is generally considered to be true subsidence if the cracks do not recover and close back up which is when some superstructure remedial repairs are required or potentially underpinning if the cracks continue to enlarge over time.

Structural Repairs

We are an approved installer of the Helifix Helibeam system, which can stabilise the existing masonry of your building by redistributing structural loads. It's a simple, cost-effective system to restore structural integrity when the masonry has lost its load bearing capabilities, and can be combined with our other products and services to provide a reliable, lasting and affordable solution to many common structural faults.

Impact Damage

Nobody expects a tree to crash through their roof or a car to crash into their living room, but impact damage is probably more common than you might think. Here at AJ Building Hull Ltd we have dealt with more than our share of this type of incident over the years.

So if your home or building has suffered impact damage then we can help resolve the problems you are now faced with, let us take the stress away from you. Call us on 01482 829377 to discuss with one of our friendly staff how we can help you.

2 Top Tips If An Incident Happens To Your Property
1. If possible always write down the registration number of the vehicle, the make and model and make a note of the time and date it occurred.

2. Always file a report to the police and get an incident number.

Urgent Repairs

We have considerable experience dealing with insurance companies, and in the event of flooding or subsidence we are able to provide a rapid, affordable response to provide you repairs on insurance claims. We can offer same day repairs for emergency work and for planned in work we aim to start all work within 2 weeks of approval or acceptance of our quotation.

Structural Survey

Our first step when diagnosing the issues of your property is to carry out a detailed survey. This thorough inspection will help determine if the condition is historic or still progressive, as well as isolate the cause of the issue. We will provide you with a detailed report containing our findings, as well as our expert advice on the best solution.

Fire Damage

When a building catches fire it can be one of the most unpleasant things that can ever happen. A fire can be a very destructive force and leave disastrous consequences and restoration can be very complex. Here at AJ Building Hull Ltd we have been undertaking repairs to buildings which have been damaged by fire for many years and have experience in dealing with all the issues which may have arisen in your property.

Let us take care of the building work and repairs necessary, so you can move back into your home as soon as possible. We have the experience and expertise to make your life as easy as possible when this type of disaster occurs so you can trust us to ensure that the work is done to a high standard.

Escape of Water

Escape of Water is the most common claim from household on their insurance over the winter months as a result of burst pipes, this is often caused by pipes freezing due to the cold temperatures causing pipes to expand and burst.

If you have had this problem in your home or property and are looking to claim on your insurance to pay for the repairs then we can help you. We work along side a wide range of insurance companies and undertake work on their behalf repairing and replacing burst pipes.

What should you do if you discover a burst water pipe?
1. The first thing you should do is find your main stopcock and make sure that you can turn it on and off. This is often found under the kitchen sink or where the service pipe enters the property. If it is on, turn off the central heating and immersion heater, and turn on the hot taps to help drain the water system.

2. Catch any dripping water in buckets. If the ceiling starts to bulge, drill a few small holes in it to let the water drain through. Please note though that if water has been leaking for some time and your ceiling is bulging significantly, it may not be safe to enter the room.

3. You should then look to contact your home insurance provider to make a claim. At this point it may be a good idea to take some photographs – the more evidence you have to back up your claim the better.