Semi-detached - underpinning next door

MM1979

Hello all, very grateful for some advice for a first time buyer. My wife and I have had an offer accepted on a semi-detached house. We went round to speak to the adjoining neighbours who volunteered they had underpinned their half of the house “for belt and braces” two years ago and also because they were thinking about doing a basement dig (now postponed because too expensive). 

Our vendor (attorney seller) didn’t initially disclose to our solicitor the existence of any party wall agreement or underpinning (next door) but, when we asked, he did acknowledge there had in fact been an agreement. We believe the party wall has been underpinned by the neighbour.

Should alarm bells be ringing? Are we likely to need to underpin ourselves given we are immediately adjoining? The surveyor noted there were more recent signs of progressive movement but he didn’t seem to be unduly alarmed. The visible cracks are pretty small but it is in an area with clay soil and the house is c.1900 so the foundations are pretty shallow. 

Thanks in advance!

Tiglet2

The next door neighbour's house is holding your one up!

It does sound as though there has been some movement but maybe not serious enough for your house to need underpinning.   Underpinning strengthens the foundations and now that the house next door has been underpinned, it's probably made your property a lot more stable. 

All you probably need to do is repair the cracks, but if you're concerned about the 'more recent signs of progressive movement' do commission a structural engineer's survey. 

An executor is unlikely to know much about the property and a surveyor will only survey the property in question, not next door.

MM1979

Thanks very much Tiglet2. We are a bit concerned about the fact the underpinning next door was only done two years ago (and so cracks/issues may still be developing) but that’s reassuring you believe the underpinning isn’t fundamentally destabilising.

I think we will get a structural engineer in, to be sure, and to reassure house insurers. 

Thanks again!

Woolsery

We effectively underpinned one side of our old 1930s house by tying a large extension to it. Like a lot of houses built in that era, the original house had 25cm deep foundations and the extension's went down to 2m in places due to special circumstances. There was no differential movement between the two parts of the house in the following 19 years, but ground conditions do, of course, vary.