Chimney / cracking of ceiling

27col

Some friends of ours had a subsistence claim and now they can only get insurance from the company that they claimed from. They are having to pay increased premiums as well.

hethmar

Well, if it is subsidence you cant just ignore it or the house could collapse round you - better to get it sorted - and anyway it may well not be that serious, at least it will get them out rather than ignoring your concerns.

penelope26

thanks for all the advice. I don't know why the cracking happened but I have subsequently found out that a) I have no lintels above any doors or windows & b) the wall ties need doing. Not sure if this would be linked to the cracking but kinda glad that a builder pointed out the lack on lintels seeing as the surveyor didn't

Airwolf1

Do you have soldiers instead? (Bricks standing up)

misgrace

Perhaps the chimney was unsafe anyway, and by the ariel man being on the roof has put pressure on it, and this is why its cracked and you heard all the banging.

Dont forget these ariel men do this work all the time, so they would know how to walk on the roof, or at least know what they are doing, I would think.
Now your getting cracks all over the place, and its defiantely not the plaster cracking or drying out, and the chances are it could be the chimney,and the weight is putting pressure on the whole house.

You need to get it checked for safety reasons.

penelope26

Hi Airwolf1, no I don't have soldiers. It's an old council house & app window fitters do it all the time, take out the old wooden or metal windows & just put in the new uPVC ones, without telling the owners that they need lintels putting in. App the houses around me are the same.

illzlee

window fitters do it all the time, take out the old wooden or metal windows & just put in the new uPVC ones, without telling the owners that they need lintels putting in. App the houses around me are the same

yep, defo heard of this before. another twist is some unscrupulous companies will price the windows lower to win the job and then when the windows are out tell you that lintels are required and you have to pay over the odds because you have no choice.

get some pictures up, as without any it's difficult to advise further on the cracking.

hethmar

And people complain about all the legislation re building works now! We have the same with our business "but the bloke down the road can do it for £200 less than you" - well yes, because he isnt regulated at all and if it goes t*ts up next year you wont get any response from him.

penelope26

I actually don't know how to put pictures on here & the ones I've taken haven't come out very clear anyway. I have phoned a few builders, but think I'd rather use one company that can do the lot. I'm really worried about getting it done as you never know who are cowboys & who aren't. One is registered with the Wall Tie Federation so if he goes bust the guarantee transfers to them. he has also contacted a builder that can put lintels in & I think he must be desperate for work coz has priced the job lower than everyone else. He was the one that noticed the lack of lintels in the first place & seems to be concerned, although experience tells me, never trust a tradesman - no offence is there are any on here, but I've had a few bad experiences.

I find it quite worrying that surveyors don't point this out. Although I didn't have a structural survey carried out it makes me wonder, at what point do they inform the customer or the bank that there are potential structural issues - once they have the extra money for a structural survey im guessing (no offence illzlee I guess there's good & bad surveyors too). It's just worrying that if it wasn't for the builder that initially came out I still wouldn't have a clue & would probably only find out at the point where my windows pop

Airwolf1

There would really be no need for the lack of lintels to be pointed out if all that was done was a mortgage valuation. A Homebuyers or Full Building Survey should point it out.