Structural problems?

jesmin45

I rent out a property, bought in 2005 with a mortgage. The area is known for historic movement as the houses were built on coal/sand mines. Built circa 1890. 2 bed stone semi. 2 years ago I re-mortgaged, the surveyor queried movement and recommended a structural engineers report before allowing the mortgage to be offered. The surveyor is well known for being methodical and thorough, I did manage to speak to him and he said he knows the area well and he said house was sound but he was covering his back. The SE report came back fine. Now I have come to sell it and noticed in the front bedroom (gable end wall side) a large crack about a 3rd down the wall and across the ceiling with lots of cracks in the ceiling. I have had a low offer on the property, the guy who offered said his surveyor said there is a bulge on the gable wall and ir may need wall ties in the future. Nothing about the cracks or any movement. He reduced his offer but would not let us see a copy of the survey so we are not sure exactly what it said. But he wanted us to drop a further £10k. Now after seeing these cracks, I may have to. But if their is a structural problem would the engineers report not have picked this up 2 years ago??

Lord_Baltimore

Nevermind what the surveyor did or didn't say 2 years ago. You can see the cracks; if they are serious and you can afford to unload the property at the reduced price, do it.

teneighty

1890 is very early to have cavity walls, are you sure about that?

Also £10k for replacement wall ties is very high. A 2 bed semi should cost between £1.5k and £3k.

If the property got a clean bill of health 2 years ago it is very unlikely that it has suddenly suffered structural movement since, unless something has happened like a leaking drain or large tree cut down etc.

jesmin45

cavity?? not sure what you mean by cavity. the largest crack is down the wall and across celing and wall on the gable wall , if that makes sense. Mmm the SE report did say as a caution to prevent possible further movement some work to the front gully needs doing, but when we got this looked at the gully is under ground. I have not got the report to hand so cant give the exact wording.

jesmin45

Teneighty thats probably why he would not let us see a copy of the survey, maybe they mentioned a figure of around £3k and he thought he would try for £10k. He wanted the house at a bargain, he tried to knock me down on several things. I suppose if he had been told the house had major structural issues he would not of come back at all!

G_M

I would insist on seeing the report before negotiating on price.

Unless you are absolutley desperate to unload at any cost.

It's a game of bluff...

jesmin45

I agree ~GM but I need to check out the cracks, I am going to phone the Structural Engineer in the morning as see if he will come back to the property, I know there will be a charge but its for peace of mind.

eddddy

I think you (jesmin and teneighty) are talking about two different types of wall ties:

jesmin45 wrote: »

.... the guy who offered said his surveyor said there is a bulge on the gable wall and it may need wall ties in the future.

teneighty wrote: »

1890 is very early to have cavity walls, are you sure about that?

Also £10k for replacement wall ties is very high. A 2 bed semi should cost between £1.5k and £3k.

jesmin45 wrote: »

cavity?? not sure what you mean by cavity.

I think the surveyor means 'lateral restraint wall ties' (which are very likely to be needed in an 1890s house) , whereas teneighty is talking about 'cavity wall ties' (and of course, an 1890s house will not have cavity walls).

Having said this, I've no idea about the cost and disruption associated with installing lateral restraint wall ties - but here's a link to a youtube vid about how they are installed (in a house with solid walls) :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FoASd0XkL24

teneighty

I think the surveyor means 'lateral restraint wall ties' (which are very likely to be needed in an 1890s house) , whereas teneighty is talking about 'cavity wall ties' (and of course, an 1890s house will not have cavity walls).

Well spotted eddddy, that makes far more sense.

Another option could be that the solid wall is built with stone facework which has debonded from the wall and needs ties to stabilise it.

Cost wise depends on the extent of the bulging stonework but £10k still seems excessive, even if you were doing the entire gable end, £3k to £5k seems more likely.

Might be worth asking your original engineer as they've probably still got their site notes on file and could give you some advice over the phone.

abankerbutnotafatcat

Slightly off point but I think an 1890's house could have at least part cavity walls though presumably this applies to brick builds only. Our house is 1900 and has one apparently (brick pattern) cavity wall which the surveyor also picked up on. I did a bit of research and by the late Victorian period they were already recognising the benefits of cavity walls so were sometimes using them for exposed walls. Our probable cavity wall is our north-facing wall which is indeed exposed.

princeofpounds

1890 is very early to have cavity walls, are you sure about that?

My house is c1890 and has cavity walls too. They were just starting to come in around then in the better-built houses.