Subsidence repair 'guarantee'.
Discussion
A corner of our early 17th century house ( on shrinkable clay ) has suffered some subsidence.
Our insurers insisted that we removed a nearby hedge ( which we have done) that they claimed was the cause, and now say that as the removal of the vegetation has solved the problem, we can go ahead with the repairs to the house.
I want to use the insurer's approved contactors.
The insurers say that if subsidence reoccurs in that area within three years, they will not treat it as a new claim.
I do NOT believe that the hedge was the cause, and mindful of the attitude/rules of any future mortgage company in the
event of our sale of the house, I want a much much longer guarantee.
How can I achieve this?
.
Our insurers insisted that we removed a nearby hedge ( which we have done) that they claimed was the cause, and now say that as the removal of the vegetation has solved the problem, we can go ahead with the repairs to the house.
I want to use the insurer's approved contactors.
The insurers say that if subsidence reoccurs in that area within three years, they will not treat it as a new claim.
I do NOT believe that the hedge was the cause, and mindful of the attitude/rules of any future mortgage company in the
event of our sale of the house, I want a much much longer guarantee.
How can I achieve this?
.
Employ your own structural engineer.
Underpinning is really very simple. Did and add concrete in essence. Ie putting in a better foundation that was there in the first place.
No idea about long warranties but to have any value it will need to be insurance backed.
Given the age of the house then to be honest someting has changed so a hedge is plausible.
Underpinning is really very simple. Did and add concrete in essence. Ie putting in a better foundation that was there in the first place.
No idea about long warranties but to have any value it will need to be insurance backed.
Given the age of the house then to be honest someting has changed so a hedge is plausible.
Note that partial underpinning can cause issues all by itself - ideally you want the whole property to move with the clay as a whole. If part of the house is now anchored to a deeper bit of clay that moves at a different rate you can see differential movement. Insurance is easier if the building didn't get underpinned as well.
It may well be the hedge btw - the rule of thumb is that if the vegetation was there (and mature) when it was built, it's probably not the guilty party. It's normally the removal (causing heave) or new vegetation that causes clay subsidence. What do you think has caused the movement?
It may well be the hedge btw - the rule of thumb is that if the vegetation was there (and mature) when it was built, it's probably not the guilty party. It's normally the removal (causing heave) or new vegetation that causes clay subsidence. What do you think has caused the movement?
I completely agree about no partial underpinning.
The possible/probable cause:
The hedge was planted about 35 years, the house dates from 1623.
It’s built on shrinkable clay and the rainfall over the last two years locally has been minimal.
There’s a large pond in the garden ( contemporary with the house ) and last summer and this,
it has dried out completely.
Also, there is a recent large housing development in the vicinity and I’ve been told that the flood mitigation measures that the developers had to put in have changed the water table over a wide area.
As the insurers are confident that it’s all down to the hedge, I don’t see why they shouldn’t offer a long term insurance based guarantee.
The possible/probable cause:
The hedge was planted about 35 years, the house dates from 1623.
It’s built on shrinkable clay and the rainfall over the last two years locally has been minimal.
There’s a large pond in the garden ( contemporary with the house ) and last summer and this,
it has dried out completely.
Also, there is a recent large housing development in the vicinity and I’ve been told that the flood mitigation measures that the developers had to put in have changed the water table over a wide area.
As the insurers are confident that it’s all down to the hedge, I don’t see why they shouldn’t offer a long term insurance based guarantee.
I'm a recently retired surveyor, some years ago I spend 2 days a week for two years doing nothing except subsidence claims and I've see a good many since then. For you as a homeowner being told you have subsidence can be a bit like being told you have cancer, but the truth is it only rarely needs major structural repairs in and (please don't take this the wrong way) yours seems to be a bog standard minor claim.
The vast majority of subsidence clams are the result of clay soil being desiccated by tree or shrub roots that have sucked the moisture out of the ground and caused the clay to shrink, and the vast majority do not need underpinning. You/your insurer have to first determine if you have subsidence and investigate the ground conditions to confirm the cause, which in your case is shrinkable clay. Having done that you need to remove or remedy the cause, (in your case take out the hedge) to allow the subsoil to recover. After a period of monitoring to confirm that the situation has stabilised repairs can then be undertaken. From what I can see, this is what's happened at your house and I suspect that your insurer is correct about the hedge. Many homeowners think that insurers are b
ds but that's not my experience although occasionally the advice from their appointed engineers can be be wrong, or seems to be biased but on the whole that's unusual. The one thing that sticks in my mind from when I was dealing claims was that they never wanted to run the risk of having to go back and re-open a claim and they tended to go the full Monty in the first instance even if it pushed up the cost.
I think you'll find that the three year time span is most likely an industry standard and I doubt that you'll get them to agree to anything longer, but there's no harm in trying, and I suspect your insurers are handling the claim properly.
I hope this helps.
The vast majority of subsidence clams are the result of clay soil being desiccated by tree or shrub roots that have sucked the moisture out of the ground and caused the clay to shrink, and the vast majority do not need underpinning. You/your insurer have to first determine if you have subsidence and investigate the ground conditions to confirm the cause, which in your case is shrinkable clay. Having done that you need to remove or remedy the cause, (in your case take out the hedge) to allow the subsoil to recover. After a period of monitoring to confirm that the situation has stabilised repairs can then be undertaken. From what I can see, this is what's happened at your house and I suspect that your insurer is correct about the hedge. Many homeowners think that insurers are b
ds but that's not my experience although occasionally the advice from their appointed engineers can be be wrong, or seems to be biased but on the whole that's unusual. The one thing that sticks in my mind from when I was dealing claims was that they never wanted to run the risk of having to go back and re-open a claim and they tended to go the full Monty in the first instance even if it pushed up the cost. I think you'll find that the three year time span is most likely an industry standard and I doubt that you'll get them to agree to anything longer, but there's no harm in trying, and I suspect your insurers are handling the claim properly.
I hope this helps.
They have finished the monitoring process and the loss adjuster said that the building
is "stabilising" and that remedial works can go ahead (there's battle looming
.)
I suspect that there's a lot of guesswork as well..
The arboriculturalist said that a sycamore in the Churchyard next door contributed to the problem,
but when I quoted Cutler & Richardson's statistics regarding the percentage of insurance subsidence claims
against the distance of each species of tree from the problem area, which in this case was zero, he backed down.
Thanks for the info that 3 years is the industry norm ...... another battle
is "stabilising" and that remedial works can go ahead (there's battle looming
.)I suspect that there's a lot of guesswork as well..
The arboriculturalist said that a sycamore in the Churchyard next door contributed to the problem,
but when I quoted Cutler & Richardson's statistics regarding the percentage of insurance subsidence claims
against the distance of each species of tree from the problem area, which in this case was zero, he backed down.
Thanks for the info that 3 years is the industry norm ...... another battle
We had subsidence and got the certificate of structural adequacy faster than that (well we didn't the previous owner did) - ours was caused by large willow that was allowed to get 20m high in the front garden. I've had a look at the information we got when we purchased - seems the subsidence was found in 2018 and the When it was removed the ground rebounded and we've not seen any sign in the past 7 years - and believe me, every hairline crack gets a very stern stare! The cause was confirmed the by subsidence firm with bore holes which showed where the roots were going + some tree consultants or something - there was a very detailed report with studies of the clay characteristics etc, so I'd check you've got something similar. Time line seemed to be insurance company alerted in Summer 2018, initial structural survey in Oct 18, detailed survey of roots + foundations etc done issued in dec 2018, work was then done - I think pretty much immediately, certificate of structural adequacy issued in september 2019.
I wouldn't worry about the flood control thing situation changing something - i'd assume that would offer the macro water level rather than one bit of your house. If the whole house moves up and down with the season it's not an issue - it's only when one bit moves more than the bit next to it that you have the problem.
I would track down a copy of this book - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Has-Your-House-Got-Cracks... (if you look hard enough there are pdf's on the web). I have an older edition and found it very useful in helping to understand what was going on / the risks going forward.
I wouldn't worry about the flood control thing situation changing something - i'd assume that would offer the macro water level rather than one bit of your house. If the whole house moves up and down with the season it's not an issue - it's only when one bit moves more than the bit next to it that you have the problem.
I would track down a copy of this book - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Has-Your-House-Got-Cracks... (if you look hard enough there are pdf's on the web). I have an older edition and found it very useful in helping to understand what was going on / the risks going forward.
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