Subsidence

LUSK

Does anybody have experience of subsidence?

I have a rental property which has recently had some roofing work done and it was mentioned there might be an issues. This is currently being dealt with.

I live on the same plot of land as the rental property (about thirty metres between the two properties) and due to the potential subsidence in the rental property have become a little paranoid as to what might be going on in the house which I live in.

I have found quite a few cracks in the plaster and I am sure they have only recently occured, but I could be wrong.

What are your thoughts on these pictures?

Norman_Castle

There is movement (probably caused by trees) at the property I live in with very similar cracks. Its likely the very dry summer will have affected a lot of properties. Hopefully the ground will stabilise at a lower level rather than continue to subside.
I would keep monitoring them to see if they increase in size.

LUSK

Norman_Castle wrote: »

There is movement (probably caused by trees) at the property I live in with very similar cracks. Its likely the very dry summer will have affected a lot of properties. Hopefully the ground will stabilise at a lower level rather than continue to subside.
I would keep monitoring them to see if they increase in size.

Thanks Norman. Do you think they are anything to be worried about? What are you doing with yours?

Hillwalker11

They are definitely movement cracks. We had subsidence over 20 years ago now with a very large crack on the wall between the lounge and dining room and eventually the house was underpinned. Ours was due to clay soil, a hot summer and tree roots. We live in a heavily wooded area.
Because of this year's long hot summer the forecast is for more subsidence claims for many.
You should let your insurer know and they will probably suggest a structural engineer. All they will do is monitor movement over a certain length of time. Ours was monitored for 2 years but I think now it is over less time as there appears to be more claims for subsidence.
I don't think these days they underpin as much as they used to, probably down to cost.
Our claim went on for years we had monitoring, bore holes drilled around the house, soil sample analysis, surveyors,structural engineers, original builder, council officials, tree surgeons.It was never ending.
We still get some hairline cracks now and again but only very small and easily filled.
I imagine the cracks will close up a bit in the winter and expand again in the summer.
It is worth checking the outside of the house. If there are no diagonal cracks in the exterior brickwork there is far less to worry about.

LUSK

Thanks and when you say movement cracks, are you classing this as subsidence?

If the property is being monitored, does this essentially mean the property is blighted and can not really be sold?

I live in a clay area and we've all experienced the (lovely!) summer and there are trees which are nearby.

On one property, there are clear signs the bricks have moved but on the other, there doesn't appear to be any visible signs.

Norman_Castle

LUSK wrote: »

Thanks Norman. Do you think they are anything to be worried about? What are you doing with yours?

Worrying

Norman_Castle

Our claim went on for years we had monitoring, bore holes drilled around the house, soil sample analysis, surveyors,structural engineers, original builder, council officials, tree surgeons.It was never ending.

Were all of the costs covered by your insurer?

Hillwalker11

Yes, everything was covered by insurance. I have a feeling we may have paid the first £1000 .
I don't think these days they do nearly as much investigating,i.e. bore holes etc.When we had problems subsidence was fairly unusual,which is not now the case in the present climate. Our total bill including underpinning was in the region of £50,000, which was a fair amount of money 20 years ago. The insurance company were excellent.

Hillwalker11

Yes movement cracks are classed as subsidence. As for selling, while the monitoring was going on, no you would not be able to sell.However once the work is done and signed off it shouldn't be a problem. In an area with clay soil a house that has had extensive monitoring and remedial work will look more attractive as it has been dealt with.

PatrickJohnson

Hillwalker11 wrote: »

I don't think these days they underpin as much as they used to, probably down to cost.

Yes, a builder who did some (unrelated) work on my house was talking about this. There are other ways to deal with subsidence suggested here.

It does seem like subsidence in my non-expert opinion, but it's worth seeing if its corroded wall ties (I always cross my fingers and hope for the cheaper option with everything).