In progress of buying a house and Level 3 Survey has revealed ...

Johndudeandkittens

....the at the front right of the property by the front door, the wall is not in vertical alignment. They've suggested it could be a sign of instability and a structural engineer would be needed to determine the cause.

The property was built back in 1900-1929 according to the surveyor and all of my own research seems to suggest it was around this time too. Initially I planned to just pull out. However, there are really not many other options due to budget and condition of other places this really is our best option however, not if it's going to fall down in a few years or cost tens of thousands to repair later down the line. So I'm wondering if any structural engineers here or anyone with experience of this sorta age properties could shed any light. We will get a engineer out if we proceed with the purchase, but would you pay £1000 for this or just pull out?

I've managed to dig up old photos of the front of the property dating as far back as 2009 so far and the exact same leaning wall is there since at least then - giving me the impression that this could of been like this since construction or a very very long time. We have also had a mortgage surveyor go out and they did not flag up any issues including the wall (Since they offered the mortgage)

I've tried to get as much pictures of the wall in question and the dates of those images being taken. Annoyingly the most recent (2025) were all taken at an angle in themselve and not straight at the building from the front. It's also worth noting that the wall in question was not reported to have any cracks or other obvious signs but there was a crack noticed under the window externally (small one) which I'm no engineer but I wouldn't of thought a crack would appear there if the wall is on the other side that has the issue?

Would you pull out of the purchase or proceed and get a structural survey?

DE_612183

me personally yes - but then I guess it depends whether it will be your forever home - if it's an issue now it will be again when you try to sell - how long has the current owner been in the property?

Johndudeandkittens

DE_612183 said:

me personally yes - but then I guess it depends whether it will be your forever home - if it's an issue now it will be again when you try to sell - how long has the current owner been in the property?

Hi there, thanks for responding. The current owner has been in there for 7 or 8 years according to the last sold date.

silvercar

Why not share your findings with the seller and ask them to get a structural engineer report - after all they will have the same issue with any buyer.

Johndudeandkittens

silvercar said:

Why not share your findings with the seller and ask them to get a structural engineer report - after all they will have the same issue with any buyer.

I will raise this with the seller for sure. I wonder if they have any reports from when they bought the property as to why the wall is leaning... or can shed any light on this but hadn't thought of asking them to pay for the survey. We do really want the property so we dont want to "rock the boat" so to speak.

TheJP

Johndudeandkittens said:

silvercar said:

Why not share your findings with the seller and ask them to get a structural engineer report - after all they will have the same issue with any buyer.

I will raise this with the seller for sure. I wonder if they have any reports from when they bought the property as to why the wall is leaning... or can shed any light on this but hadn't thought of asking them to pay for the survey. We do really want the property so we dont want to "rock the boat" so to speak.

If that's the case then ask the sellers if they were aware, then if not satisfied then you should pay for the survey. If it highlights work needing doing you can use it to your advantage or sell it on to the seller for them to think about/rectify.

stuart45

It's known as the bookend effect. Years of expansion and contraction of the brickwork, and hard cement pointing causes ratcheting in the brickwork. This causes the gable wall on the end terrace to start moving like a bookend.

Albermarle

stuart45 said:

It's known as the bookend effect. Years of expansion and contraction of the brickwork, and hard cement pointing causes ratcheting in the brickwork. This causes the gable wall on the end terrace to start moving like a bookend.

I suppose the key question is, how likely is it that it will continue to move ?

stuart45

Albermarle said:

stuart45 said:

It's known as the bookend effect. Years of expansion and contraction of the brickwork, and hard cement pointing causes ratcheting in the brickwork. This causes the gable wall on the end terrace to start moving like a bookend.

I suppose the key question is, how likely is it that it will continue to move ?

That's a key point. An SE would need to monitor any movement over a period of time. 

Johndudeandkittens

stuart45 said:

It's known as the bookend effect. Years of expansion and contraction of the brickwork, and hard cement pointing causes ratcheting in the brickwork. This causes the gable wall on the end terrace to start moving like a bookend.

So does that mean that eventually it will fall over?

stuart45

It could do, but remedial work is normally carried out before it gets that far.