Subsidence or settlement

[Ellbell]

Hi,

We are trying to buy a 3 bed mid terraced house that was built in the late 1800’s but the rear extension is on its own as the house next door was built later. As it’s an area with lots of subsidence - south London. We only got a valuation completed as we didn’t want to pay £’S for a survey for them to say bob mortgageable. The valuation said some movement so we paid for a structural engineers report. The structural engineer viewed the property and said that movement looks minor and non progressive but the only way to ensure it’s not still moving is to monitor it however the lender is happy with the report and said that the house is mortgageable. We also had a drain survey to check all was ok and drains weren’t causing issues. The drain didn’t have any issues.

We met with the neighbour and went to their house and viewed the side of the rear extension (obviously the surveyor didn’t have access to this) and we noticed some cracking and now the surveyor wants a further £300 to visit the property again - he cannot tell what is happening from the photos.

The house looks as though it was built slightly wonky. The floor in the upstairs rear landing of the house dips in middle but the structural engineer thinks that this is due to the weight of an internal upstairs wall.

Now we’re in a pickle as what to do. We’ve forked out for the structural engineers report and drain survey and now wondering whether worthwhile paying the extra £300 or whether it’s safer to just pull out.

Any help would be appreciated

 

[bobasd]

The SE only had to ask the neighbour's for access permission - same as you did.
The same goes for the valuation surveyor - if it was a survey?

the visible cracks, and some cracks that might have been recently pointed over, are possibly thermal movement cracks - very common and of no great concern.

the cracks seem to appear in a rough vertical line with what looks like soot penetration smudging patches to be seen.
is there, or was there, a chimney breast on the other side of the gable wall?
there's a couple of small brickwork bulges showing
and an uneven verge roofline.

houses 130 to 150 yrs old will all be in need of various remedial repairs.all these things are par for the course.

before getting into any conveyancing ask the seller for info of any previous repairs, roof leaks or surveys.

 

[Ellbell]

Thanks for your response. There is a redundant chimney breast that sits behind where the cracking is. It’s been blocked up so doesn’t appear to have been used for many years.

“there's a couple of small brickwork bulges showing
and an uneven verge roofline” - what does this mean?

It’s a probate sale so the sellers claim to know nothing about any repairs.


Thanks

Read more: https://www.diynot.com/diy/threads/subsidence-or-settlement.512625/#ixzz5WuXR06WL

 

[bobasd]

The chimney flue or probably flues, is most probably a contributor to the cracking. read up on here about redundant flues.

The bulges are very slight - easily dealt with.

google pics of roof verges and look at your pic where the roofline meets the sky - again easy to deal with, most probably when other roofwork is being done.

Neighbours will know something about past repairs - esp. if a scaffold has been up or digging has taken place.