Subsidence Retaining Wall

debale

I recently purchased a property and have now discovered that the retaining wall (approximately 1.5m from the rear of the property)is on the verge of collapse. We have been advised that the wall is dangerous and requires removal asap.

There is no way, the previous owner did not know about this prior to selling and we found it had been covered with artificial grass with a baby gate behind it!!! There was only a Mortgage survey and standard survey carried out and both failed to pick this up. Not sure if they should have?

Is there anything I can do, to recover or assist with costs? or legally?


Thanks your help would be much appreciated

AdrianC

You can kick yourself for not having a better look beforehand, and put the legal fees money towards replacement.

How high a retaining wall are we talking about, anyway? Who "advised" you this? What symptoms got you wondering? Is it subsidence? Or just the wall...?

Mortgage valuation certainly wouldn't cover it. When you say "standard survey", do you mean an HBR? What did it say about that area in general?

Davesnave

There's no such thing as a 'Standard Survey.' The usual RICS ones are Condition Report, Homebuyers' Survey and Buildings Survey, with the latter being the most thorough. The lender's valuation survey is just that; a quick check to see if the value of the house will cover the money being advanced.

If you had a Condition Report or Homebuyer's Survey, little attention would have been paid to anything outwith the house. The surveyor might cast their eyes around, but you could not rely on them spotting something like this. Full Buildings surveys consider outhouses so might pick up on garden walls too.

Your problem is proving what your vendor knew. They may have covered the wall for aesthetic reasons(!) or claim the wall was fine at that time.

Who has told you the wall is dangerous and needs removal?

debale

Thanks for pointing out the obvious and giving me a bashing.....Retaining wall is approx. 10ft high, its an old stone and mortar wall and over the years the mortar has washed away. I was just generally clearing up and painting all the fencing etc. I lifted the artificial grass and found a baby gate and thought what a strange place to a baby gate.... I had a landscape gardener over to plan what I could do with the garden and he stated it was in the worst condition he had ever seen and it would not last another winter. The gardens in the area are all part of the mountains and therefore either steep incline up or steep incline down. Don't think its subsidence (wrong word), no evidence on property itself, just the wall. Survey was HBS.

ess0two

I think you'd need a more professional opinion than a landscape gardener.

GrumpyDil

And did you specifically ask a question about the condition of the wall. Sorry can't recall if the standard enquiries would cover this and if they would you need to check the answer that was given.

debale

The landscape gardener is a professional he has carried out this type of work for more than 15 years he knows what he is talking about...
As for did I specifically ask about the wall no, is the answer as it was covered when we viewed the property.....
There is obviously nothing I can do but, pay up and get the work done.
Thanks

AdrianC

Is it past simply repointing?

Sounds like it can be taken apart and relaid easily enough.

BrownTrout

Take some photos and post them up pls.....

Davesnave

debale wrote: »

Thanks for pointing out the obvious and giving me a bashing.....

That's OK. We're used to people shooting the messenger on here and saying answers are obvious. You're the second for me this week.... and it's only Wednesday!


But bashing? Really?

Zanderman

debale wrote: »

The landscape gardener is a professional he has carried out this type of work for more than 15 years he knows what he is talking about..

If he's a professional landscape gardener he should know better to give advice on 10' high retaining walls adjoining a property. You need an opinion from a structural surveyor and a builder.

Old stone retaining walls are highly likely to have problems. Unless there was a specific question about it asked of the buyer during conveyancing i doubt you've got any grounds for formal complaint.

I'd have instructed the solicitor to ask specifically about it, but I've worked with a lot of civil engineers on similar (though often much larger!) structures so I'm more wary of them (retaining walls, not engineers) than most.