Cost of under-pinning and tying in extension

*zippy*

Hi

Arrived back from holiday last week to find a crack has appeared down the wall of our single story extension which runs along the full length of the side of our house. We were away when we had the scorching weather in July. Immediately rang our insurance and the structural engineer arrived yesterday.

It appears there is a few problems, the extension (about 15 years old) was not tied into the main house when built, this has to be done and a flexible seal inserted. The property is also on clay soil and the hot weather may have dried it out causing the movement. We are also very close to large trees running right alongside our property owned by the school next door and these are making the situation worse as they are depleting the soil.

It looks like we will not be able to successfully claim as it is a design fault from when it was built.

Could anyone give me some ideas of what sort of figures we are talking about. It needs 12 ties put in inside and outside and then the possibility of underpinning. the extension is approx 8ft x 24 ft. The school is very good and will deal with trees I would think.

Thanks for any help, it sounds like its going to be alot of money we were not expecting to pay out and a bit of a worry at the moment. I would feel alot better just to know in what region we are talking in figures.

George_Bray

Are you sure the crack isn't near-cosmetic? Perhaps the crack can be filled in with some cement and may not get any worse. Or has a whole line of bricks visibly dropped?

I'm shocked to hear you may not be covered under your insurance. I thought this is the type of event which property insurance is for.

Regards
George

*zippy*

HI George

No the gap is wide enough outside to see it hasn't been tied into the house. The crack is wider at the top than the bottom and has pulled plaster away from the wall. Just has a search around on the internet and apparently insurance companies are expecting 1/2 million claims due to the hot weather, tree roots are the main culprit.

With regards to insurance claim engineer said it depends on the company, Where it has opened there is evidence of filler so looks like it has been patched up in the past, the extension hasn't been built as it should have been and the evidence of a previous history of movement that wasn't stated when we applied could go against us.

This was on the guardian newspaper site

In this situation, you will want to claim on your buildings insurance. However, a policy will only pay out in the correct circumstances, such as if subsidence began since you moved into the property

On the plus side the web site i was reading said underpinning is now rarely done and tying in and cutting the trees back could be enough. On the scary side it said if needed costs can be from 20K upwards :eek:

George_Bray

Zippy

I'm sorry to hear that this does sound quite major. I assume the extension was built before you moved in. If so, would there be any chance of a claim against whoever did the survey when you moved in, or even the original builder, if you can ascertain who that was. Also, if the surveyor didn't notice anything, that would support the view that it was OK when you moved in, I guess.

I wouldn't be surprised if quotes could reach £20K + but I would never pay that, if I could help it. Maybe demolition and a total rebuild wouldn't cost that much, as worst case, but hopefully it won't be necessary to go that far.

The extension I mentioned in another thread today, about a patio window frame may not have been properly constructed either, in that the frame may have been positioned too low, relative to the wet paving slabs, so the frame has rotted away. I fear you can't trust anyone, unfortunately.

Regards
George