Subsidence issues

eddddy

FreeBear wrote: »

Trees and clay soils will cause heave & shrinkage - A different problem to subsidence which is (generally) down to voids appearing under, or very close to the foundations.

The Financial Ombudsman Service (who regulate insurance companies) don't agree with your definitions.

Here's some extracts from their website:

buildings insurance: subsidence

This section of the website describes how we approach complaints involving buildings insurance disputes about subsidence.

overview
Subsidence is the downward movement of the site on which a building stands -where the soil beneath the building's foundations is unstable. The movement is not caused by the weight of the building.

<snip>

causes of subsidence
Subsidence is usually caused by one or more of the following situations.

clay shrinkage
This is one of the most common causes of subsidence. Clay is made up of about 30% to 35% water. This means that soil with a high clay content can become “desiccated” (dried out) as a result of nearby vegetation sapping the water - particularly during long hot summers.

When this happens, the volume of the soil decreases and the building's foundations subside.

Link: https://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/publications/technical_notes/building-subsidence.htm

bertiewhite

To echo some of the comments about windows:

My last house (welsh stone cottage) had upvc windows installed by the previous owner and the lintel above one of them was found to be non-existent as dry rot had literally reduced it to powder and cracks were starting to appear in the uppermost corners.

I feared the worst but actually replacing the lintel with a modern concrete one was quite methodical & simple. I'm not saying this is your problem but if it is, it shouldn't cost the earth to put right.

GemQuin

https://photos.app.goo.gl/4qsmjHmrjmjzgU4C9

https://photos.app.goo.gl/q1ZuCRJgzcc31MC18

https://photos.app.goo.gl/nbn5g9aMfu1B2GaD7

GemQuin

Thanks for your help everyone - Here are the photos. Sorry couldn't take until last night. How do I post the pics so they show up in the thread, not as a link?

eddddy

A crack underneath the window won't be lintel failure (i.e. not related to the uPVC windows)

The close-up picture under the window looks like it might be a previously repaired crack, which has reappeared.

Also, is the pebbledash rendering on the house fairly new? Could it have been done by a previous owner to hide cracking?

(Did you buy the house from a builder who had just refurbished it?)

Those look like subsidence cracks to me - but I'm no expert.


Edit to add...

In your position, I think I'd get a structural engineer to look at it (but maybe phone around or google - you should be able to find one cheaper than £800)

GemQuin

Thank you. I never noticed that before but now you mention it it does look like a previously repaired crack. Hmmm. Not sure how old pebbledashing is but we've been there 5 years and previous owners there for 12 years and not builders (as far as I know).

So a structural engineer not a surveyor? I was thinking of going with the surveyor and then if he confirms subsidence going to insurance and they can send out structural engineer.

eddddy

GemQuin wrote: »

So a structural engineer not a surveyor? I was thinking of going with the surveyor and then if he confirms subsidence going to insurance and they can send out structural engineer.

If a surveyor is cheaper - maybe.

But if they are similar prices - I would go for a specialist, i.e. a structural engineer.

If you go ahead with an insurance claim, you may later want a professional specialist (i.e. a structural engineer) who is 'on your side'.

Some insurance companies try to save money by proposing cheaper inferior solutions - in that case, your structural engineer can challenge them.


I hesitate to suggest websites which I have never used, but try getting names and estmates for structural engineers here:
https://www.localsurveyorsdirect.co.uk/structural-engineers-inpsection-reports.aspx

(Look at the costs of an SSI - Specific Structural Inspection.)

FreeBear

eddddy wrote: »

A crack underneath the window won't be lintel failure (i.e. not related to the uPVC windows)

Zoomed in on the first image - The cracks extend from ground up through the stone sill and through the stone lintels - That all adds up to some serious cracking. An expert opinion is required, and the repair is not going to be cheap.

On the bright side, having stone lintels above each window means you won't have to worry about uPVC windows supporting the brickwork.

stuart45

For some reason back then many builders seemed to think that bay windows didn't need foundations as deep as the rest of the property, so you often come across problems with them on older properties.
On some of them it's easier to take the bay down and rebuild with a much deeper footing than try and underpin them.
The tying in the the main walls are often quite poor as well.

BlackBird75

Edwardian houses in the UK often have quite shallow foundations, especially the bay windows.

Another thing I've seen mistaken for subsidence is old WW2 bomb damage (not in your case, but just to add to the list..)