Will I need a structural survey?

shopaholictiedtheknot

We are buying a house which has had a wall removed (around 10 years ago) between the kitchen and dining room, we have been informed by the vendors that they had the work done and as it is not a supporting wall they did not need planning permission and have no certificate.
Our solicitor has told us that he will be informing our mortgage company (Northern Rock) of this and that it will be up to them whether they insist on a structural survey - is it likely that they will do and if so how much is this likely to cost us?

weeg

For peace of mind, I would get a structural engineer to look at it. How did the vendor know it wasn't a supporting wall? What's the house like? Old/new? Construction (timber frame?) How many storeys? part of a terrace/ estate?

Planning permission and structural stability are entirely unrelated.

(it probably wasn't - unless there is cracking nearby, but it's a lot of money to gamble)

Oh, and the cost would be in the region of £350-£600. Make sure the engineer is chartered menber of ICE or IstructE and carries PI insurance. googling findanengineer should help.

marybishop

They might not have needed Planning Permission but if it was a supporting wall then it would have needed Building Regs approval which would have required calculations/drawings from a Structural Engineer. Like Weeg says how do they know it wasn't a supporting wall? And cracks don't necessarily happen straightaway! Tread carefully - a house purchase is a lot of money without the possibility of having to spend more money on putting right someone else's mistakes!!

UK007BullDog

Hi, I am just going through the same thing as I want to remove a wall, well two walls really, and I phoned the council and they did not even want to know. They are saying if the builder is happy to remove the walls then fine.
You can follow my thread here: http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=486628

For your own peace of mind you can do that anyway. When we bought our house some changes had been made and nationwide was told of it but they were quite happy with a basic report. Yes, it might be a cost now but when you sell your house that report will then be worth it for the next purchasers peace of mind and the sales process can go ahead more smothly for you.

shopaholictiedtheknot

Thanks for all your advice, I think we are going to go ahead and get one done regardless of what Northern Rock say, as you have all said, it is a lot of money to risk and for the sake of 500 or so quid we would be silly to take that risk, the vendors seem genuine but you can never tell really I suppose!:rolleyes:

Jonbvn

I am a civil/structural engineer. After 10 years you do not legally require building regs approval. Basically, they are saying if it hasn't fallen down yet, then it is unlikely to now!

When your vendor says the wall is/was not load bearing, how do they know? If the removed wall is on the ground floor, it may have to support the weight of the wall above. In such cases, it is usual to install a steel joist (or 2) to support the upper wall. If the steel joist was improperly designed (too small) then problems would have become apparent already. The steel joist would have visibly bowed, with cracking in the supported walls. In my experience, the majority of problems are likely to occur where the joist is seated on the supporting walls.

Overall, given the length of time the modification has been done, it is very unlikely to be a problem now. However, I cannot guarantee this, without a detailed structural survey. Therefore, for your own piece of mind, I would recommend that you get a detailed survey undertaken.