Think i may have a bit of subsidence; who should i contact?

buglawton

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http://www.amazon.co.uk/Guide-Looking-After-Your-Property/dp/0091922836/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1266181549&sr=1-1

educate yourself on the contents and save money ever after!

crystaltips_68

Hi Bug, thanks for that! I have read other threads that have included links to info from Jeff Howell, which is why i would like to wait until the central heating is in before i get the damp looked at, in case it improves with the added heat. However, the damp is getting into the floorboards and leaving white marks on the carpet, so i believe i have water getting in somewhere, rather than just condensation.

Something else i have just thought of; my roof is spray-foamed on the inside, so if it was leaking, the roof space would remain dry and water would run between the tiles and beams, and then possibly into the walls. I wonder if this is what is happening? (i am getting quotes for a new roof at the mo).

David_Aldred

Hi Crystaltips,
I can see the reason for your caution regarding informing your insurer and it really will come down to whether you think this is going to get worse or not and whilst you may hope it doesn't, you may well not be confident to rule out a worst case scenario. Be aware that failing to notify your insurer could put you at risk of them refusing to fund repair works at a later date if they suspect you were aware of the fault that turned out to be ongoing but failed to inform them of it when you first became aware of it.

You state in your posts that the drains are being re-lined and if they have been leaking this could be a factor in the cracking to the bay area you note, though it may well be nothing to do with it at all.

A surveyor or structural engineer is unlikely to just walk up to your house and declare that the movement is ongoing or not unless it is something really obvious as to the reason but they may well wish to insert witness pins on either side of the cracks, measure the distance between the pins acurately, then re-measure at a later date to see if the value has altered. Of course you could do this yourself but then you come back to the issue of if it is ongoing and you left it for six months whilst you monitored it yourself your insurer might reflect this delay in how they view your claim.

In the first instance I would talk it over with a competant structural engineer and ask that they quote you to give an initial inspection / site visit with some verbal advice. The fee for this should be relatively low compared to them putting pen to paper. Before they visit it may be prudent to excavate a small trial pit down to the foundations in the area of concern afor them to inspect and have all details regarding the drain survey / repairs to hand for them to inspect along with your insurance docs and original house survey. If they visit and are of the opinion that there is cause for concern then you need to take their advice and act upon it including whether they recommend you notify your insurers or not at this stage.

Kindest regards, David Aldred Independent damp and timber surveyor.

crystaltips_68

Hi David, and many thanks for your post. I have seen others written by you on the site and have found them very useful!

My drains that need lining are in a different part of the house (1960's extension; pitch-fibre pipes), so are unrelated to this issue.

I take on board what you say about my house insurance company, but i should speak to an expert first, as you suggest, so i will ring my original surveyor in the morning and go from there.

These witness pins; are they something i can buy, if so, where from??

David_Aldred

Hi Crystaltips,
If you are going to monitor it yourself borrow or buy a digital micrometer from E-bay / Machine Mart etc that you can photograph with a date stamped camera and any type of pin plugged into the wall on either side of the crack will do so long as it remains fixed but if you want to be posh try www.yorksurvey.co.uk Hope this helps - kindest regards, David

crystaltips_68

Thanks David!:beer: