Subsidence - what to expect

[SavBlancTonight]

We appear to be suffering from subsidence and our insurance company is currently sending a million different specialists round on an ongoing basis to figure out why/what/how etc.

What no one seems to be able to tell me is what happens once they've decided yes, it's subsidence and it will need to be underpinned. what is involved? is it a 3 day process with a few men and a drill or is it a 3 month process and we have to move out?

Has anyone experienced this and can provide some insight?

The trees have also impacted the drains but there's even more confusion about what this means or how to deal with this (comms is NOT the insurer's strong suit!). We HAVE been told the drains as a factor may not be something the insurer will deal with. Sigh.

The trees are ours. So if a new fence has to go up I think we're going to have to pay for it. which Is frustrating. But there are still so many unknowns that we're trying to just deal with what's in front of us at any one moment.

eg, the doors are all out of alignment. They've done temporary fixes on the front door. We have been told that in due course, once the problem is fixed, a new door and door frame will be provided OR that they'll give us the money at a set amount to fix it ourselves. But we have not got any details on this or what the amount would be etc. But we are trying not to focus on that right now as it's just so much further down the line.

@HopefulSeller sorry to hijack the original post, OP!

Your experience is really interesting to me as it sounds like it could be similar to the situation with a house we are hoping to buy. I made a thread last night and I’m not sure how to signpost you to it but I wonder if you have time to take a look to see if the photos look similar to the house you had, by any chance?

Hopefully they know about the Uretek system of injecting foam under the building. I used to know ppl who work for them and it is minimally disruptive— you can keep using the building while it is being done. Disclosure: I am not involved with this company in any way. I suggest mentioning it to whoever you are dealing with.

I’ll have a look @DevonMaman

Hijack away. It's all interesting and useful. I don't mind!

Might be different if this was a detailed thread DS' additional needs or something!

It has also reminded me how LOOOOOOONG this has been going on for already. With no end in sight.

Thank you for starting this thread. I’m in the same position. We were planning to sell our flat this year as TTC and in dire need of more space. Just before we started our neighbour in the same building found deep cracks in his bay window which now is being monitored for subsidence. No agent will come near us now and I’m overwhelmed with the stress of it and being trapped here.

Weve got the first “repair” job in August and the final report planned for December. Then I get tbc on any underpinning. Do you have any advice on how to speed it up or how I can make sure I get the final report asap to sell it pronto in December. Any advice as you’ve been through it would be so welcome xx

@CarlaBarcelona The contractor pumps a concrete raft under the foundations to support the house. Doesn’t take long. I doubt you would need to move out. Easy enough to read up on it. Time taken to get it done is dictated by insurers agreeing to underpinning and then agreeing a contractor and price. Then contractor having a time slot. Insurance companies drag things out! If you have a structural engineer working for you, they might speed things up for you.

Thank you! This might be bonkers (and putting cost implications aside) but is there any way of just organising for this to be done now so no need for the lengthy monitoring? I’ve spent about a week googling everything but it’s overwhelming so just hoping for some real life/human help! Many thanks for your advice so far x

@CarlaBarcelona They won’t! Monitoring might reveal that no underpinning is necessary. They will won’t spend £20,000 now if they can get away with £0 in a year! If they are monitoring, it’s marginal so they want to see progress in the next 12 months. Then assess what next. It’s a common way to do this unless the property really is crumbling.

Thank you - honestly, your advice has been so helpful during all this uncertainty. One last thing (I think/hope), what if it wasn’t the insurer paying it. If we could afford to pay for the work direct, fix it and get a report saying all the work is done, is that possible or do the insurance have to do it? Just desperate to get out and could use savings to do this rather than be stuck here for another two years waiting and chasing. What do you think? X

Oh and also it seems minor. The building is quite large and the crack is “moderate” apparently and around a bay window.

This sounds very similar to our story in South East London on clay. We started to get cracks and noticed the floor had dropped leaving gaps between the floor and the skirting boards (1930s parquet floor built on a concrete slab). First of all the insurance company tried to wriggle out of paying, saying it was just normal movement. We paid £100s for soil samples, a structural engineer etc. Finally the insurance company agreed to monitor and after about 18 months, they agreed to fix it. It was all due to a huge tree on the pavement outside (so owned by the council). We moved out for about 8 weeks (they offered to pay for a hotel but we had a five year old and seven year old so we found a cheapish flat that would give us a short term rental instead). They didn’t underpin - they cut down the tree then they took up the whole ground floor and relaid a new concrete slab. Because they had to replace like with like, we got a new oak parquet floor, a new kitchen and a new fireplace. It was a massive hassle but it was worth it. It was also good when we moved on and sold the house. The local estate agent said most houses in the area were at risk of subsidence (due to the london clay) and buyers would rather buy somewhere that had been sorted than risk buying a house that hadn’t been. Good luck

@CarlaBarcelona Insurance doesn’t have to pay for it but it can be an expensive repair. You could engage your own structural engineer who might want pits dug around the window to ascertain what’s going on with the foundations. Then you could go forward with their recommendations. The damage doesn’t seem as severe as other posters are reporting. However they will want to be satisfied as to the extent of the foundation failure and the ground conditions causing it. Subsidence that’s moderate in respect of a bay window should not mean 12 weeks out of the building.

Back again with more questions. Your experience of wrapping it up in 18 months sounds better than most I've read that seem to have dragged on for years and year. We're with Aviva who have appointed Innovation Group to carry out the monitoring. I wondered who you had looking after yours and if you had any tips on how to make sure they don't delay/prolong the monitoring? Thanks x

Just to be clear, subsidence is where the foundations cannot hold a section of a building stable. So very dry soil with shallow foundations which are in sufficient for the ground conditions. allow the house to sag. Forces from walls and the roof are supported by foundations. Therefore they need to be able to do their job in changing conditions. When they are shallow and soil conditions change, the house can sag and cracks appear. The foundations are insufficient to stop this happening.

Therefore although a new floor slab might be necessary, if the foundations are insufficient to hold up the building, it will need underpinning. The concrete replicates deeper foundations. Just replacing floor slab does not rectify subsidence. It’s the foundations that need attention. However getting water back into the soil because a tree is reminded or pollarded can help. This can help reduce the cracks but it takes ages to monitor and agree what to do next. Insurance companies will take the cheaper option.