Subsidence
Subsidence has caused approximately £3 billion of damage over the last 10 years to an estimated 20% of UK homes*.
Subsidence in your home could be caused by drainage problems, inadequate foundations, extreme weather conditions or the removal of nearby trees. A structural engineer is uniquely skilled to diagnose the cause of subsidence and to advise and design the best course of action to limit the damage to your property.
If you have noticed evidence of movement in your property, prudent home owners should make contact with a quality Structural Engineering firm such as ADS. An Engineer will arrange to visit your property and produce a report as to the suspected cause of your structural problems. If your house shows signs of cracking, further investigation to eliminate subsidence may be recommended. This would involve trial holes and drainage surveys to identify the exact problem and then working with building contracts, a cost-effective, long-term solution would be designed to reinforce the integrity of your property. In the majority of cases this can be done by underpinning (various types) and redesigning adequate drainage schemes to ensure that the causes of subsidence are eliminated before remedial works are carried out to relieve the symptoms.
*Source: Landmark