 |
| Online Shop | Fashion | Hair and Beauty | Health and Fitness | Love and Marriage | Recipes | Careers and Business | Parenting | Money | House and Home | Travel | Motoring | WE Top Websites | News and Entertainment | Regulars | Contact Us |
|
Serious Cracks and Quick Fix Solutions Martin Roberts- TV Property Expert, Author and presenter of ‘Homes under the Hammer’ offers advice and guidance on all things property related I tend to see lots of cracks in properties that we feature on the show, and some of them are nothing to worry about at all…but there are those which have the tell tale signs of subsidence and this can bring all sorts of challenges to a restoration project. Such was the case with a property in London that I visited this week. Our contributor hadn’t spotted the cracks on the outside wall which ran from the roof eaves right down to the floor. It was only when the mortgage company carried out their survey on the property that this problem was identified - and in this case the mortgage company wouldn’t advance the loan until the problem had been rectified! The trick is to know your cracks - an ability to identify which cracks are just inoffensive settlement cracks, and which can lead to a big ‘crack’ in your renovation budget is a very useful skill! Subsidence In the more serious cases, cracks are due to subsidence – which can usually be easy to spot from the way the cracks appear. They tend to run diagonally and were wider at the top than at the bottom. The most common causes of subsidence are: 1. Water erosion - Damage to subsoils caused by water flowing through them. This may be from naturally occurring ground water or leaking drains and water mains. 2. Mine Shafts - If your property is in a mining area, then settlement of old mine workings can result in damage to structures on the surface. Although the mines may be a long way from your property – they can still cause subsidence. You can ask for a mining report to be carried out on your property to check for the potential for this kind of damage. In certain cases you may also be able to claim the cost of repairs back from the relevant mining authorities. 3. Instability of uneven ground - When soils rest at an angle to the horizontal they can sometimes become unstable and begin to slip. This is known as landslip and is typical of coastal cliffs. This type of movement is both difficult and expensive to deal with. 4. Shrinkage of soils - probably the most common cause of subsidence. Soils that contain a large organic content such as peat are most susceptible to this. When these materials are below the water table in the ground they remain relatively stable, but if the water table should become lower, then the soils will be prone to drying-out or biodegrading - resulting in a reduction in its volume. This will cause any buildings supported by the soils to settle and crack. 5. Shrinkage of clay soils - Clay is a natural soil and being highly impermeable to water, clays will resist the tendency to dry out and will normally maintain consistent moisture content over many decades. However, if clay dries out it can shrink and upon rewetting it expands. This results in seasonal shrinkage and swelling which can cause cracking of nearby buildings. 6. Tree roots - spread out in search of water. When trees grow in shrinkable clay soils they can dry out the soils and this can often cause subsidence. Alternatively, if a well established tree should die then the ground in which its roots are dispersed will no longer be subject to the long term drying-out effect and as a result will begin to take up moisture from surrounding soils and from the atmosphere. This in turn will result in swelling of the soil and this is known as heave. Heave is capable of producing greater damage to a building than its counterpart, subsidence. Back to our house in London….One really useful product that our contributor used was ‘Dryfix’ Wall ties. These effectively repair cracks by ‘tieing’ together the brickwork and can be used on pretty much all cavity and solid masonry walls if they have been constructed with commonly used building materials. Their beauty is that they don’t require any grouts, resins or mechanical expansion so are easy and economical to use. For more information go to: Spotting Subsidence Claire Davidson asks: “I am interested in starting to buy old properties at auction that are in need of total refurbishment but am concerned that as a novice to developments, I don’t have the skills to spot major defects such as subsidence. How can I spot if a property has subsidence?” The obvious signs of subsidence in a property, is if there are a series of cracks generally around one part of the building, e.g. bay window, corner or additional structure such as a porch or annex. Similarly, if repaired cracks reappear or doors or windows begin to stick, then these are all signs that there is movement to the walls which may be due to subsidence, heave or landslip and requires further investigation. If a property is found to have subsidence it needed necessarily be a complete write off. In structural terms, damage caused by subsidence rarely causes the building to become unstable overnight. As a general guide for more modern properties, the crack width/movement needs to be about 15mm or more to warrant a ‘severe damage’ classification. Even with such movement, the building may not be unstable. If you suspect that a property has subsidence, you will need to get it checked out by an experienced and qualified structural engineer who will carry out various investigations on the property and report to you what remedial work should be undertaken. They will also oversee and co-ordinate repair work. You should also notify your buildings insurers as soon as possible, as they may wish to appoint a loss adjuster to help with any insurance issues. About 20-30% of properties suffering from subsidence need some form of underpinning but in most instances, remedial measures such as removal of trees or repairs to leaking drains are sufficient for the building to regain stability and the repairs are no more disruptive than you needing to redecorate the property. If you are just about to buy a property that you know has serious cracks and are applying for a mortgage, it’s likely that the mortgage company will insist on a Structural Engineers Report. They may also request a drain survey. Depending on what the report states, you can expect the mortgage company to put a ‘Retention’ on the mortgage. This in effect means that they hold back part of the loan pending the work being carried out to fix the problem. If you have a problem or confusion from the property world, Email your questions to askmartin@martinroberts.co.uk Individual questions may not be answered personally, but could appear in this column To find out more about Martin Roberts and for property advice visit www.martinroberts.co.uk |
|
 |
| Copyright © WOMENS EVERYTHING 2012 | Advertise | | Privacy | Terms & Conditions | Sitemap | Directory Software by Global 7 |