Building Survey Issue

RajaStyle

I had a full building survey done before purchasing a property and a number of cracks in the render were stated in the report as 'non-structural cracking through the rendering in a number of places.' However now having bought the property and moved in I am worried they might be structural cracks after all as the cracking on the outside is mirrored in the rooms inside. How can I confirm this and what options do I have in the UK against the surveyor and fixing this ?

sshaw101

If it is a structural problem then you could sue the building surveyor.

As for fixing it depends on what is causing the cracks, could be foundations failing (worse case)

tbs624

Did the surveyor's report have any of the usual " cover my a*se in all eventualities" clauses, ie, "the purchaser is advised to consult a structural engineer for further investigation" ? (presume not if surveyor felt the cracks were "non structural")

Get a good local builder to come and take a look and then get back to your surveyor for his comments

G_M

And ultimately if it IS structural and you DO want to sue, you will need another surveyor's report and probobly a structural engineer's report.

You might get these on insurance.

RajaStyle

I've got the original surveyor coming back out this week to recheck it ... any advice on what to say or do would be apprciated. I have some people saying to me it's not worth the hassle to sue, what can be expected from such a case ? Do legals costs / stress outweigh result ? Any opinions would be appreciated ...

RajaStyle

The original surveyor came back out and said that 'the vertical crack is in the structure but not a structural crack' in his opinion is superficial and can be cemented over and could crack again in a couple of years if wanted can put a metal lathing (eml) to hold and render over. He does not believe it to be progressive. Also a second crack where exactly the kitchen extension meets the orginal house he said similar in that it had not been joined to the original house and came away and was done before new standards were brought in. Any thoughts ? does this seem logical considering original report said all crack were non structural ?

RajaStyle

oh and the second crack mentioned above where the kitchen extension meets the original house he totally missed on the original report.

hazyjo

Only way you can be sure is to get a second opinion by a structural surveyor (unless any other profession covers this - not an expert!).

Either you believe him, or you get it checked by someone else.

I'd be inclined to get a second opinion. If you leave this and the problem gets worse, he could say it's happened after his survey and wasn't that bad when he viewed it. If you get it checked now and he's in the wrong, I'm presuming you can sue. And it really depends on what's wrong as to whether or not you sue. If there's subsidence (hopefully not!), you might HAVE to sue! Presume he'd have to accept some responsibility for you buying the property at the price you did. It would obviously have been worth less, and you or the previous owner would have had to pay for repairs.

Jx