Subsidence? What to do next?

cashferret

An elderly relative has noticed a crack in the boundary wall at the front of her property (and the wall dips a bit, apparently) - and also says that the garage door won't open, presumably because of some sort of movement. But she's seen no cracks in the house walls.

What should she do? The main concern is whether this is something she should report to her insurer, or whether it's irrelevant because the problems aren't with the house (the garage is detached, but just a few feet from the house).

She's worried because she's heard it's expensive and difficult to get insurance for buildings with subsidence. Not that this is necessarily subsidence, of course, but we don't know.

I'd really appreciate some advice!

Doozergirl

Have you been to look? Are these areas actually near to each other?

I'm not sure that a garage door not opening and no sign of any cracking immediately raises the thought of subsidence.

I wouldn't be claiming for a boundary wall. It could just be old and not built with much in the way of foundations. Knocking it down solves the problem, if indeed it is that bad.

There's a bit of gun jumping going on. Relative is probably seeking a bit of reassurance?

cashferret

Doozergirl wrote: »

Have you been to look? Are these areas actually near to each other?

It's hundreds of miles away but I know the house well - the wall is about 18 feet or so from the building and the garage about four feet. The wall and the garage are maybe forty feet apart.

I'm not sure that a garage door not opening and no sign of any cracking immediately raises the thought of subsidence.

That's reassuring!

I wouldn't be claiming for a boundary wall. It could just be old and not built with much in the way of foundations. Knocking it down solves the problem, if indeed it is that bad.

She doesn't want to claim for the wall - she's intending to knock it down and get it rebuilt, but hasn't thought of claiming on the insurance (and I agree she shouldn't).

There's a bit of gun jumping going on. Relative is probably seeking a bit of reassurance?

I think I'm the one seeking reassurance, really! I want to make sure that she's properly insured and that none of this stuff indicates a problem that needs declaring to the insurance company.

I don't think the garage is on foundations, either. She's getting builders in to take a look at it so maybe they can advise on what's up with the door.

Perhaps I just worry too much!

Ectophile

Check if the insurance covers subsidence to boundary walls. If it doesn't, then you can't claim anyway.

But in any case, be very careful of using the "s" word anywhere near the insurers. Whenever you obtain a quote from a new insurance company, they will ask if you've ever had subsidence. You really don't want to have to answer "yes" to that one.

Bigphil1474

OP, we had a subsidence claim which started in 2011. It was £1,000 excess and it took nearly 18 months to get it sorted. This related to the house though and was pretty bad.
All turned out okay in the end, but this is the first year we've been able to get competitive quotes on house insurance as it is now more than 5 years ago. Definitely worth exploring all other avenues before getting the insurance involved. If there's any link between the wall and the garage it could be that e.g. is there a drain underground that passes both it might have collapsed. They reckoned our subsidence was caused by a broken underground pipe that took the water from the down pipe to the sewer, but the pipe was the responsibility of the water company.