Questions and answers

Most structural repairs cost from a few hundred pounds to several thousand, depending on the problem. As a guide, crack stitching is usually £80–£180 per metre of crack, a lintel £750–£2,500 per opening, wall tie replacement on a semi-detached house £2,500–£5,000 and underpinning £1,000–£3,500 per metre of wall. These are guide prices inc VAT; they vary by region and access and are confirmed in writing after a survey.

Prices vary mainly because labour, materials, parking, waste disposal and access costs differ across the UK. Guide prices are usually highest in London and the South East and lower in Wales, the North and Northern Ireland. Access matters as much as location: scaffolding, a narrow terrace or a busy road can add more than the region does. Your written quote reflects your own property.

Yes, the initial assessment from your photos or a call is free. From it we tell you whether the problem looks cosmetic, needs a site survey or calls for an engineer. After a survey you receive a no-obligation written quote, which becomes a fixed price in writing once the repair is specified. You are under no obligation to go ahead at any stage.

A crack is more likely to be serious if it is wider than about 5 mm, tapers from wide to narrow, runs diagonally from a window or door, passes right through the wall or keeps growing. BRE Digest 251 treats cracks up to about 5 mm as aesthetic in most cases. Sticking doors and windows alongside a crack are also worth noting. Width is a guide, not a diagnosis, and your engineer will confirm.

It is usually better not to fill a crack until it has been assessed, especially if it is new or getting wider. Filling hides the evidence of movement and can make an insurance claim harder to prove. Photograph it first with a tape measure across it, and mark the ends in pencil with the date. Fine, long-standing hairline cracks can be filled when you next decorate.

The usual signs are new diagonal cracks that are wider at one end, especially near windows, doors and bay junctions, plus doors and windows that suddenly stick. Cracks that appear or widen in late summer and close in winter often point to shrinkable clay and nearby trees. Rippling wallpaper, gaps under skirting boards and an extension pulling away can also be signs.

No, most subsidence claims are fixed without underpinning. Once the cause, such as a leaking drain or a thirsty tree, has been dealt with, the ground often stabilises and the cracks can be stitched and the walls made good. Underpinning is used only where monitoring shows movement is continuing or the foundations are clearly inadequate, and the engineer decides that.

Yes, houses that have had subsidence are sold regularly, though buyers and lenders will want evidence that it has been dealt with. Disclose past movement and claims honestly on the property information form. A certificate of structural adequacy from the engineer, the claim records and proof of continued buildings insurance usually help. Some buyers can take over the existing insurer’s cover, which is worth asking about.

Buildings policies usually cover subsidence, heave and landslip, subject to their terms, but the insurer decides whether your claim is accepted. The subsidence excess is commonly about £1,000, so check your schedule. Settlement, shrinkage and defective workmanship are usually excluded. Tell your insurer before permanent repairs start, because repairing first can make a claim harder to prove.

Yes, we can price to your loss adjuster’s or engineer’s schedule, and that pricing is free to request. The insurer’s loss adjuster manages the claim and agrees the scope, so you should tell your insurer before any permanent repairs start. Any work outside the claim, such as betterment or decoration upgrades, is priced separately so you can see exactly what you are paying for.

Most repairs take between one day and a few weeks on site. Crack stitching usually takes 1–3 days, a lintel 1–2 days, wall ties on a semi 2–3 days and resin injection 1–2 days. Underpinning a small section takes about a week, larger domestic schemes 3–6 weeks and mini-piling 2–4 weeks. Crack monitoring before a repair can take 6–12 months.

Not always, because many cracks and minor defects can be judged from photos and a site visit. An engineer is usually needed for underpinning, insurance claims, wide or growing cracks, and any repair that needs design or building control sign-off. Where the repair needs an engineer’s design or sign-off, an independent chartered structural engineer is appointed, and we can arrange this.

Send clear photos of the problem close up, with a coin or tape measure for scale, and from far enough back to show where it is on the house. Add a short note of the property’s age and type, when you first noticed it, any nearby trees or drains, and whether an insurance claim is open. A loss adjuster’s or engineer’s report helps too, if you have one.

Payment stages are set out on the written quote, so you know before agreeing to anything what is due and when. The initial assessment from your photos or a call is free. For insurance work, the quote also shows which items fall within the agreed claim scope and which, such as betterment, are priced separately and payable by you.

In most cases, no, because crack stitching, wall ties, lintels and similar repairs are done mainly from outside with the house in use. Some work is more disruptive, such as underpinning from inside or replacing a floor, and a room may be out of use for a while. Your written quote explains which areas are affected and for roughly how long.

Some do and some do not. Underpinning is building work and needs building control approval and inspections, and so can a new lintel, rebuilt wall or strengthened roof. Like-for-like repairs such as crack stitching and repointing often do not. In England and Wales this falls under Building Regulations Part A, and we deal with building control where the work needs it.

In England and Wales you may, if the work affects a wall shared with a neighbour or involves digging near their foundations. Under the Party Wall etc. Act 1996, notice is normally two months for work to a party wall, including underpinning it, and one month for excavations within 3 m, or 6 m where the 45-degree rule applies. Your neighbour can agree or appoint a surveyor.

In Scotland, structural work generally needs a building warrant from the local authority verifier before work starts, then a completion certificate. Northern Ireland follows the Building Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2012, with council building control. Neither has a Party Wall Act, so shared walls are governed by title deeds and common law, and Scottish tenements have their own rules.

We cover England, Wales, mainland Scotland and Northern Ireland, and work on the islands by arrangement. Guide prices are adjusted for each region, and the rules that apply, such as building control, building warrants and the Party Wall Act, are explained for where your property is. Send your postcode with your photos and we will confirm the next step.

Yes, we work for homeowners, landlords and owners of small commercial buildings, as well as people with an open subsidence insurance claim. That includes rented houses, flats, shops with living space above and small business units. For flats, the freeholder or managing agent usually instructs work to the structure, and we can price to an engineer’s schedule.