Sinking conservatory dwarf wall, what to do?

blujay

Hi, I'm not sure if this is the right place to ask, but I couldn't find any other forums as active as this so here goes :-)

Many months ago we noticed some cracks along the wall where our conservatory meets the house. We monitored them and they didn't seem to change so we just put it down to the conservatory moving independently of the house a little. There was no leaking or any other symptoms to cause major concern. Perhaps this was a mistake. The conservatory was built while the previous occupants owned the house about 10 years ago.

We've now noticed some 'dreaded' diagonal cracks in the conservatory dwarf wall, and where that wall meets the windows above it. These cracks have opened up alarmingly quickly so we're now running around unsure what we should do. I suspect the wall is sinking/subsiding but am no expert.

I understand we should only mention the S word to the insurance company as a last resort, but we don't really know what the alternative is? Should we get a buildings survey done? If so how much can we expect to pay, and who should we ask to do it? Should we ask a builder to inspect and quote on repair work? Could they do the survey?

To make things more difficult, we've just bought another house and were planning to let this one out. Now I'm tearing my hair out wondering if it's worth the stress and whether we couldn't just sell up and let someone else worry about it.

I'd appreciate any advice on this as we're total novices having never had to deal with anything like this before.

Thanks in advance.

societys_child

It's a conservatory dwarf wall and this doesn't sound anything like as serious as the house wall.
Think your first move would be to get a local builder to have a look, I wouldn't be mentioning the s word to anyone, certainly not the insurance co.

Doozergirl

The conservatory is an outbuilding. If it is a problem, demolish it.

I'd ask a structural engineer to look at it. If it was a bit of a bodge (it's not subject to building control and therefore may have no foundations) then if you demolish it, it's not a problem to anyone, insurer included.

I'd suspect a lack of workmanship. As long as the house is okay, it's an isolated problem.

Furts

Also consider viewing it along these lines. If the conservatory has subsidence, the cost of hand digging and underpinning is likely to be thousands. A new conservatory could be built using this money to a better use. You would then have the latest glass, roof, insulation, guarantees etc.

A conservatory is only a temporary structure. Many sealed units came with, at best a five year guarantee, polycarbonate roofs are out of fashion, clear glass roofs get complaints about over heating, dwarf walls are still being built with a 50 cavity and no insulation, concrete floors did not receive insulation, trickle vents were not fitted, tilt and turn or restricted sashes not fitted... Hence after ten years many conservatories are tired and dated. The conservatory industry would argue it is time for renewal.

blujay

Thanks for the responses.

I should have mentioned, these cracks are isolated to the conservatory so I'm confident that the house itself is fine (phew).

Demolishing would be a massive shame. The house is a simple 2-up-2-down semi but the conservatory is quite large and acts as an additional room. I think it adds enough value to make investigating a possible fix worthwhile.

This is going to sound stupid, but is there a difference between a builder and a structural engineer? And does anyone have a recommendation on where to find one (I hear sites like checkatrade.com are bad news)?

Finally, does anyone have an opinion on whether we should just sell up and let the new owner decide what to do with the issue? Consider that we wont be living there for much longer - a couple of months, max. I appreciate we'd get less for the house by doing this but I wonder how that would compare to actually paying for any work / a new conservatory. The house is in a very desirable location and we're just about to complete the purchase of our new place. Or would something like this simply make the house too unattractive to buy?

Thanks again.

Furts

blujay wrote: »

Thanks for the responses.

I should have mentioned, these cracks are isolated to the conservatory so I'm confident that the house itself is fine (phew).

Demolishing would be a massive shame. The house is a simple 2-up-2-down semi but the conservatory is quite large and acts as an additional room. I think it adds enough value to make investigating a possible fix worthwhile.

This is going to sound stupid, but is there a difference between a builder and a structural engineer? And does anyone have a recommendation on where to find one (I hear sites like checkatrade.com are bad news)?

Finally, does anyone have an opinion on whether we should just sell up and let the new owner decide what to do with the issue? Consider that we wont be living there for much longer - a couple of months, max. I appreciate we'd get less for the house by doing this but I wonder how that would compare to actually paying for any work / a new conservatory. The house is in a very desirable location and we're just about to complete the purchase of our new place. Or would something like this simply make the house too unattractive to buy?

Thanks again.

Hi blujay
Ordinary, everyday, conservatories are, in general, poorly designed, poorly made and poorly installed. They are an unregulated area of "home improvement". Hence no surveyor, no Clerk of Works, and no Building Inspector expects them to be anything other than a disposable, temporary, lifestyle accessory. As such you may want to consider filling over the cracks, re-decorating and considering your options. If this means selling the house then so be it. The future purchaser is buying on a "Buyer Beware" basis, so any problems will become theirs, not yours.

blujay

Hey Furts,

Surely something like that would show up on a survey? I'm not sure my conscience would allow me to sell the house without disclosing something like that anyway... Is that me being too naive?

Either way it's going to decrease the size of any offers we might receive, right? I suppose we should speak to an estate agent about that...

Furts

blujay wrote: »

Hey Furts,

Surely something like that would show up on a survey? I'm not sure my conscience would allow me to sell the house without disclosing something like that anyway... Is that me being too naive?

Either way it's going to decrease the size of any offers we might receive, right? I suppose we should speak to an estate agent about that...

It is all relative - if there are substantial cracks in the facework this will be an issue. It may not be an issue if they are carefully re-pointed. It depends on the magnitude. But bearing in mind that a dwarf wall is usually 600mm high it would be a quick, cheap job to renew this if needed.

If the cracks are only inside it is easy to fill over and redecorate. In this situation it is probable that is what the vendors did before selling to you. If so, they had no conscience...amd you purchased on a buyer beware basis.