Part of house needs to be knocked down....

mary_mungo_+_midge

I live in a 1960's built semi, that had a toilet, utility room and shed in a separate flat roof building about 3 foot from kitchen back door. Its single skim bricks so when we wanted to connect it to main house we just added a wooden doorway at either side to make a connecting room, as the roof already went straight out from the house. Now 10 years later, the toilet has flooded the floor today, on closer inspection, the floor underneath has a massive crack in it and at the mo am waiting for a builder to come and give us an official report on how bad it is. Over the phone, he said that he sees this problem a lot as the outside building was on a floating raft type of foundation and it will need to be demolished. Now where do I stand as far as getting it rebuilt, would insurance cover rebuild or just the demolistion of it. We bought the house knowing we would use the rooms, I'm a childminder so use it for toy storage and a downstairs toilet was an essential. Does anyone know, or have experience of anything like this? Thanks x

iamcornholio

Cracks in floors do not mean a problem.

I would be wary of letting a builder look at it, as there is a vested interest in any rebuilding works. And don't dwell too much on his comments that the outbuilding needs demolishing - that's a big earner for him

If you really think it's an issue, then get an independent report by a building surveyor or structural engineer and go from there. But a flooded floor may crack as it dries out and then that's it. Fill the crack and its done

As a bit of general info for you

These outhouses may be on a raft and the raft can move naturally over time - mostly they go sideways or up and down a bit over the seasons or more so in wet or dry times. It only becomes a problem if the raft continues to move in one direction and the walls become out of vertical by a few inches. If this is happening then its very clear and the whole lot or a defined portion of it can be seen to be breaking away from the rest of it

A cracked floor is not normally a sign that the whole structure is going one way, but more of a sign of some natural movement cracking at a weak point. Again the crack would have to widen or form a step over a very short period of time to be of concern.

If you have not noticed any sudden widening of the cracked floor, or other recent cracking in walls (cracks which are getting wider not hairline cracks) then I would just monitor it yourself. As I said it may be shrinkage

Nearby large trees or shrubs or close drain runs are the most common cause of movement in floors/walls. A surveyor or engineer will need to comment on tree problems and if drains are suspected, then a CCTV survey is needed

But the most important thing to remember is don't take what a builder says as being correct unless you know him well and know that he is gives accurate advice

mary_mungo_+_midge

Thanks for that, insurance company are sending a surveyor to look at it, but it is definitely subsidence, the building has pulled away from the main house quite considerably, and the latest move ( on Tuesday after very heavy rain) actually pulled it so severely that it broke the cast iron drainpipe that was attached to both the outbuilding and the main house. Builder has written a report for insurance company that says it must be demolished asap and that he recommends a conservatory in its place, definitely not another bathroom or anything involving pipework underground. It seems that the crack in the floor is actually the floating raft broken in 2, right under the toilet which is why that has now cracked and bearing in mind the toilet waste pipes are imbedded in the concrete floating raft, they are broken too, and therefore it must come down urgently. Does anyone know if this building which 16foot out into the garden by 8ft across where it attaches to the house is knocked down, would there be a problem having a conservatory the same area space, but maybe 16foot across the whole back of the house and then only going out 8 foot or so. Would I need planning permission etc? Thanks x

iamcornholio

You can rebuild it as a conservatory in terms of planning without permission, as long as you keep to the original shape, or as long as you build any additional areas within your " permitted development rights " (google for details)

But if you want it open to the house, instead of a permanent external type door for separation, then you will require building regulation approval - which is hard to get for conservatories due to all the glass letting all the heat out

If you plan to use this as part of your childcare work (apart from storage) then you will have to check to confirm if it will still be classed as a conservatory for building regs purposes