Skirting board dropped

[Cassimin]

I have just noticed that there is a large gap between my skirting board and wall.
It's under a bay window, ground floor.
There is also small gap at top of window frame.
Any ideas?

Has the bay window been replaced recently? In older houses, the window frame in a bay was often structural and supported the weight of the bay above. If the windows haven't been replaced with suitably load bearing replacements you can get problems with cracks and movement.

It's also often the case that the foundations for a bay are shallower than those of the rest of the building. If there has been ground movement due to heavy rain, tree roots or a cracked drain then the bay may have been undermined. This sounds the more likely cause to me, but you should have it checked out by a builder or a structural engineer.

Thanks, there's a very large tree about 20ft in front of the bay.
Windows have been in about 15 years.
So looking like the tree.
Thanks for your advice.
Have you any idea if it's a big job or covered by insurance?

I suspect then it would be classed as subsidence - you may be covered by your insurance but the excess for subsidence is usually a minimum of £1000. I'd probably get a local builder to take a look - preferably one experienced in dealing with issues with the local housing stock. Check whether there are any cracks or other issues outside too.

Thanks for your help.
Texted our builder friend. He's coming out to look at it.

Any musty smell or dampness? Is the floor suspended timber with an air gap?
My guess is a problem with the joists or sleeper walls. Either the joists have rotted and failed, or the sleeper wall that holds them up has crumbled. Does it move at all if you stand on it?

Take up floorboards there and look underneath. Might be rotten.

Doesn't smell musty.
The flooring is engineered wood and laid in a herringbone pattern so not easy to pull up.
Dreading the mess.
I think once I've pulled it up I will have to redo it all.

I have pulled beading off and if I put my fingers in I can feel wall and skirting board lifts up.
Floordoesn't seem to move if you bang on it but that might be because flooring is fixed.
It's happened since xmas because it's where I have the tree and I would have noticed them. There's a piece of furniture in front of it now so can't really see it.

If the skirting board moves when you list it then it must just be not fixed down properly. Not a floor problem. Just put it in the right place and fix it up the wall again

When this happened in my last rental flat all.the joists under were rotten. You need to take up the wooden flooring in that area and look.underneath.

The flooring was floating over a void. If it had been carpet it would have been more obvious but if flooring is stuck together in one piece it can just float and shift . Take it up to check.

Didn't smell either it was dry rot under neath. Check your insurance it might cover?

From your pic skirting have been there a long time right? So they won't have got loose. Is it ground floor Victorian? Cellar underneath or earth?