Historical Movement on a 1930s House

Craig_MGR

Hi , I am currently in the process of buying a 1930s semi in Leicester for £125,000. The original guide price for the house was £130,000-140,000 . I believe movement ,even though historical ,can make insuring the house more expensive. I recently received the Buildings Survey Report and the following section concerns me a little.

5.20 Structural Movement
We noted evidence of structural movement and this has been reported upon in other
sections. We do not consider that the property is subject to active foundation related
movement.


5.06 External Walls

The external walls were inspected from ground level, the upper section with the aid
of binoculars.
The main walls are of cavity brickwork approximately 280mm thickness. Elevations
are of exposed brick.
The main walls were found to currently be in generally satisfactory structural
condition. Elevations are showing signs of some distortion.
There is evidence of movement around openings, with repairs apparent and this
could have been on account of settlement of lintels. Slight cracking can be seen to
brickwork to the front and rear elevations for example.
The brickwork to the front elevation bay is distorted, the brickwork bulging outward,
and the brickwork courses deflected. The outward bulging could have been on
account of the weight of replacement timber and aluminium windows installed,
probably 30 years ago or so.
The cracking to the rear elevation could be on account of slight settlement to the
corner of the house, possibly due to past drainage issues. The movement is judged
to be slight in nature and does not appear to be ongoing or significant.
It is evident that the house has been subject to historic movement. This is not
unusual and but is not thought to be ongoing. The movement is considered to be
within acceptable tolerances, does not appear to be ongoing, but there are some
works which are required identified later in the report. There are no signs of ongoing
foundation related movement.

Pointing is in need of some repair where exposed. There needs to be careful choice
of materials for mortar pointing.
There are no signs of significant ongoing movement to brickwork above openings
but when the windows and doors are replaced we recommend that lintels are
checked and improved as necessary.
The threshold to the kitchen door is off square. This could have been installed in this
manner and we do not anticipate significant issues but cosmetic improvements may
be desirable.
The foundations have not been exposed. Whilst there is a risk of unseen defects
there no above ground signs of extensive defective foundations and the walls
appear to be in satisfactory structural condition not affected by significant foundation
related movement.
It should be ensured that your buildings insurance policy includes adequate cover
for subsidence and heave damage.

Fire_Fox

What are your questions?

Craig_MGR

Would the historical movement be classed as subsidence? and would it need to be declared. I presuming that it doesn't as most houses suffer from some sort of settlement or slight movement.

cycloneuk

If no work has been done to stabilize the foundations and no further problems then you should be ok, i have a house that had historic settlement and one of the previous owners came to an agreement with the insurance company to have the house underpinned instead of having it monitored since the house was for sale at the time.

It was quite difficult for me to get insurance, i'm now paying £49 a month for both buildings and contents and it will be a pain no doubt to sell.

Craig_MGR

I've just phoned the surveyor and he said the house has definitely not suffered from subsidence. He also stated that I could answer 'no' to questions about subsidence, foundation movement etc...

teneighty

The cracking to the rear elevation could be on account of slight settlement to the
corner of the house, possibly due to past drainage issues.

Surely that is subsidence, but certainly the property has suffered from structural movement which is usually part of the same declaration to the insurance company.

I'm surprised you are so ready to accept that this is historical movement, the surveyor/valuer has made some massive assumptions. I would be getting a structural engineer or a building surveyor to give a detailed professional opinion.

Craig_MGR

Thanks for the reply. How much would I be looking to pay for a structural engineer to look at it?

I went for for the full buildings survey , but there was no mention of any further investigation being required. I did ring the surveyor to confirm that this was the case.

cycloneuk

I had a structoral engineers report done last November for £300, i would budget between £300 to £400 and that will just be a visual inspection along with checking floor levels and door frames ect for signs of any movement.

Craig_MGR

This is the property by the way ..


http://www.haart.co.uk/Buying/AdvancedPropertySearch/PropertySearchResults/PropertyAdvert/tabid/3731/PropId/335241/Default.aspx

Fire_Fox

Crikey that is a mahoosive garden! Lovely big rooms, like all thirties semis. They are generally lovely solid family homes when modernised.

Craig_MGR

Thanks , obviously it needs a little modernising but I've budgeted for that. After discussing the 'historical movement' with the surveyor , I'm no longer worried. He basically said that is what houses do and there are no signs of subsidence . If there were any signs it would have been stated in the report as they are very cautionary .