Cause and significance of heave at Llandough Hospital, Cardiff—a case history of ground floor heave due to gypsum growth

Summary Inspection of some roof areas at Llandough Hospital, Cardiff indicated that the brick walls had moved outward at eaves level. A level survey of the ground floor showed approximately 60 mm of arching. The paper describes the structure, the site investigation to assess the cause of the damage and geochemical and microbiological tests on the black calcareous pyritic mudstones of the underlying Westbury Formation. The paper concludes that the heave was caused by volume change related to the growth of gypsum.