Crack in Orangery

hdh74

Just had a long chat with the surveyor. He claims he wrote a paragraph on this issue and it somehow didn't make it to the PDF we got - he's resending it. He says the cracks are almost certainly settlement cracks when the windows and door were altered - he could see those have been done since the original build and explained some ins and outs on that. His advice is to have the cracks repointed and monitor and says he is also qualified as a structural engineer so is confident that's what we would be told if we paid for more advice. He says it's a double wall construction and he can't ascertain for certain if there is sufficient support for the roof but inspections on the roof fit, squareness, join between roofs and between walls all come up sound and suggest no issues.
I'll read the appended report with care and look into it further if needs be. Thanks for all the input - we had no idea what to worry about or ask the surveyor and it has all been really helpful.

Section62

hdh74 said:

Just had a long chat with the surveyor. He claims he wrote a paragraph on this issue and it somehow didn't make it to the PDF we got - he's resending it. He says the cracks are almost certainly settlement cracks when the windows and door were altered - he could see those have been done since the original build and explained some ins and outs on that. His advice is to have the cracks repointed and monitor and says he is also qualified as a structural engineer so is confident that's what we would be told if we paid for more advice. He says it's a double wall construction and he can't ascertain for certain if there is sufficient support for the roof but inspections on the roof fit, squareness, join between roofs and between walls all come up sound and suggest no issues.
I'll read the appended report with care and look into it further if needs be. Thanks for all the input - we had no idea what to worry about or ask the surveyor and it has all been really helpful.

The more you say, the more concerned I would be.  Something like that shouldn't be missed from the report in error.  How can you be confident there aren't other issues the PDF is missing?

Regarding the BiB, does his name appear in the Institution of Structural Engineers members directory? Does he use any post-nominal letters in the report or correspondence?

https://www.istructe.org/find-an-engineer/members-directory/

(for privacy reasons don't name him on this site)

hdh74

Mmm. Slight communication issue from hubby. He's ACABE with regards to the structural engineer thing but DH misrepresented his wording. He knows a bit more about it than just as a surveyor - he's RICS etc with that.
He's resent the form and the supposed paragraph is still missing. I'm hoping it's a tech issue but not sure.

hdh74

Okay. Found the issue with the report. He mentions the crack in a single sentence but refers to it as below the patio door when it's actually below a window. He does say in the sentence to repoint and monitor. 

stuart45

It's worth repointing to stop moisture getting in. The settlement is probably the pier at the right of the large window. It's probably taking more weight now than when first built.