Do I really have subsidence?

Question

A guy made an offer to buy my house but says it looks like it has subsidence. He pointed out a 0.25 inch gap between the grouting on my tiles and my skirting board. I thought the grouting was just old (10 years) I have no trees near the house. There are no cracks in the walls at all and the skirting boards are flush. The house is about 10 years old and in an area where there are peat bogs? Could he be right?

Answer 1

you haven't got subsidence Daisy its just shrinkage// the guy didn't want to buy so he used that as his get out

Answer 2

there is probably a very simple explanation to this in that the skirtings and tiles will have been put on at the same time. over time as wood dries out it shrinks so the deeper the skirting board the more shrinkage you will get. if there are no other signs of cracking etc I would not worry at all but you could re grout the gap so it is not noticable. good luck

Answer 3

The only way to check this properly is to have it checked over a period of time. I had subsidence due to tree roots causing damage to my drains which meant that the sub soil under the house was being washed away. We rectified this by cutting down the trees and replacing all the drainage pipes. The house was then monitored for 18 months allowing for all weather conditions. This was done by the fixing of a series of studs into the outside walls and then measuring the gap every month. The lack of any discern-able movement over the 18 months showed that the action we took had rectified the problem. What I'm trying to say is that you don't sort it in 5 Min's. We actually bought our house during the whole of the process on the condition that the previous owners insurance could be transferred to us enabling us to continue the process that they had started. This proved to be really easy in that the previous owner telephoned their insurance company and asked them if this could be done, they said yes and backed it up in writing. Hope this helps, don't panic, dealt with properly and in the correct way subsidence is not the problem that everybody makes it out to be.

Answer 4

A house that is ten years old, even built in peat bog area should not be subsiding. Don't take his word for it because he wants to buy your house at a minimum price. Call your insurers immediately and get them to come out and inspect this 'gap'. Only qualified people are able to make this judgement. Ask your neighbours if they have the same problem too.

Answer 5

normally the biggest tell-tale sign is cracks in the external wall, they will normally be horizontal to diagonal due to the unstable ground.
the best thing to do, is to get your house surveyed, no-one knows better than a qualified surveyor.
if this guy is going to buy your house as it is, it is his own responsibility to have a structural survey done before he buys though!

peat bogs can mean unstable ground, but guessing will not do you any good, get the survey or see if a local builder will come round a have a look, make sure they arent cowboys though!

good luck and hope it isnt subsidence!!

Answer 6

In order to check for subsidence you can super-glue a small piece of thin window glass over the cracks or gaps, any movement however small will crack the glass, but this might take more time than you have to convince your buyer, but it will re-assure you.

Answer 7

aybe not ..check internally ..do the doors fit squarely in the door frames are the frame heads square if there are no cracks in walls i would think it just a peice of shrunken skirting

Answer 8

You have not got subsidence ,if you had the estate agent would have pointed it out to you

Answer 9

Maybe! Ask the council to come and have a look!