Subsidence

iqonic

I am currently in the process of buying a property, we just got an engineers report and he has suggested that there maybe possible subsidence. He found some plaster cracking on the front and rear walls. He also found structural cracking on the boundry walls. He also said there was some deflection on the rear foothpath. However he will not give me an answer as to what this really means. He has suggested a drains test and said he will go from there.
The problem is that he has said he may not be able to give me a conclusive answer either way, so I am at a loss as to what to do. I have already paid him €450 for the report and he wants another €100 to check a wall which he did not have access to at the time. If I get the drains test done this will cost ne another €300-€400 and even then he siad he will not be able to say 100%, he said if the drains are cracked he will be telling us to probably walk away ( the house is about 50 years old, so probably has clay pipes whihc will have some cracking). We do not want to lose out on this house as we have been house hunting for nearly a year and this house is perfect for us in every way, but also we do not want to stuck with a house that has structural problems which we cannot insure.

I have spoken to my solicitor and he has advised us to get a second opinion (but this of course will cost us even more money) I really need some advise as I am totally clueless on this issue. How can you tell if the property is suffering from subsidence? Should we just walk away at this point or pay out more money and hope that everything is actually?

all advise appreciated.

BryanF

iqonic wrote: »

I am currently in the process of buying a property, we just got an engineers report and he has suggested that there maybe possible subsidence. He found some plaster cracking on the front and rear walls. He also found structural cracking on the boundry walls. He also said there was some deflection on the rear foothpath. However he will not give me an answer as to what this really means. He has suggested a drains test and said he will go from there.
The problem is that he has said he may not be able to give me a conclusive answer either way, so I am at a loss as to what to do. I have already paid him €450 for the report and he wants another €100 to check a wall which he did not have access to at the time. If I get the drains test done this will cost ne another €300-€400 and even then he siad he will not be able to say 100%, he said if the drains are cracked he will be telling us to probably walk away ( the house is about 50 years old, so probably has clay pipes whihc will have some cracking). We do not want to lose out on this house as we have been house hunting for nearly a year and this house is perfect for us in every way, but also we do not want to stuck with a house that has structural problems which we cannot insure.

I have spoken to my solicitor and he has advised us to get a second opinion (but this of course will cost us even more money) I really need some advise as I am totally clueless on this issue. How can you tell if the property is suffering from subsidence? Should we just walk away at this point or pay out more money and hope that everything is actually?

all advise appreciated.

we cannot answer the structural part of your question what has the banks engineer had to say on the matter? they will not lend if there is subsidence

iqonic

BryanF wrote: »

we cannot answer the structural part of your question what has the banks engineer had to say on the matter? they will not lend if there is subsidence

The bank does not require an engineer report.

Markcheese

To be fair what's spent is gone, yes it'll cost you more from here to get a more accurate picture but thats why you spend it... To get that picture... If he had told you theres no subsidence, you'd payed your 450, and then in 5 years time you have a problem , would that be better value??
I appreciate that money is tight but if you really still want to go for this house you'd be as well to check more ... Either the drain survey or 2nd opinion, plus ask around the area to see is subsidence an issue.. I know parts of cork have major issues.. Usually southside,

iqonic

Markcheese wrote: »

To be fair what's spent is gone, yes it'll cost you more from here to get a more accurate picture but thats why you spend it... To get that picture... If he had told you theres no subsidence, you'd payed your 450, and then in 5 years time you have a problem , would that be better value??
I appreciate that money is tight but if you really still want to go for this house you'd be as well to check more ... Either they drain survey or 2nd opinion, plus ask around the area to see is subsidence an issue.. I know parts of cork have major issues.. Usually southside,

Thanks for the reply but l suppose the problem is more that we cant seem to be able to get an answer if there is a problem or not. And the engineer has said he may never be able to give a definitive answer, which does not make sense to me. As far as I know this estate has not suffered any subsidence but the area in general has.

iqonic

Markcheese wrote: »

To be fair what's spent is gone, yes it'll cost you more from here to get a more accurate picture but thats why you spend it... To get that picture... If he had told you theres no subsidence, you'd payed your 450, and then in 5 years time you have a problem , would that be better value??
I appreciate that money is tight but if you really still want to go for this house you'd be as well to check more ... Either they drain survey or 2nd opinion, plus ask around the area to see is subsidence an issue.. I know parts of cork have major issues.. Usually southside,

Thanks for the reply but l suppose the problem is more that we cant seem to be able to get an answer if there is a problem or not. And the engineer has said he may never be able to give a definitive answer, which does not make sense to me. As far as I know this estate has not suffered any subsidence but the area in general has.

RITwing

I lived in a house which experienced subsidence after I had lived in it for 5 years. The final diagnoses was not confirmed untill after one year of monitoring. Then followed preparation of tender documents then works during which I had to move out. All in all the process took three years to sort out - all paid by insurance. Which I doubt you will obtain cover for this building.

Consider the €450 money well spent and move on.

RITwing

iqonic wrote: »

the engineer has said he may never be able to give a definitive answer, which does not make sense to me.

So trust him.

RITwing

Determining whether your problem is actually subsidence can take some time. Monitoring may be required over a period of several months to ensure that cracks are indications of anything more than superficial

source

professore

We had subsidence work done on our house due to burst clay pipes - covered by our insurance - and it cost €60K. Whole foundation of the house was dug out, piled and poured with concrete. Adjoining walls had to be replaced. A drain survey should show this.

To me it sounds very like a subsidence issue.

-snip-

Drift

In Short:
Walk away - it's not worth it.

To be slightly more verbose:
If the Engineer is local to the area and has seen subsidence before then take him at his word and find another house. It's just not worth the risk.

Jenny15

Hello everyone,

Me and my partner are buying a house in galway city, basically we have done snag list and it has subsidence, extension build on without planning permission need to be knocked down and a wall put back in plus new internal walls.

Blue mold is in the walls due to damp and no proper ventilation.

I need an advice and looking for a registered builder to do them for affordable price. Does anyone have an idea how much it can cost in total to fix them please.

I appreciate for all the advice and help.
Regards
Prema

Metric Tensor

Jenny15 wrote: »

subsidence ..... affordable price.

These two words do not go together!

If the house has subsidence you walk away and do not buy.

The only people who should buy a house with subsidence issues are speculators/developers or possibly people who build/repair houses for a living.

A house is the biggest purchase you will ever make and subsidence is the worst possible problem there can be with a house!