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Tim JA
Tim JA, Construction Worker
Category: Structural Engineering
Satisfied Customers: 3262
Experience:  Owner at Self-employed
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I’m wondering if my house is safe, so I have one wall at the

Customer Question

Hi ! I’m wondering if my house is safe
JA: OK. Tell me a bit more about what's going on so we can help you best.
Customer: so I have one wall at the front of the house that has 3 cracks that go from the op of the wall diagonally to the floor another wall has a crack the same but it’s a short wall under the window the cracks are around 5-7 mm
JA: Is there anything else important you think the Structural Engineer should know?
Customer: there are cracks on the outside of the property too and every door Frame has cracks too but smaller
Submitted: 11 days ago.
Category: Structural Engineering
Virtual-mod
Expert:  Virtual-mod replied 10 days ago.
Hello,

I've been working hard to find a Professional to assist you with your question, but sometimes finding the right Professional can take a little longer than expected.

I wonder whether you're ok with continuing to wait for an answer. If you are, please let me know and I will continue my search. If not, feel free to let me know and I will cancel this question for you.

Thank you!
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Expert:  Tim JA replied 10 days ago.

Good morning, and welcome to the Technical section in Just Answer, an independent paid question and answer platform that matches customers' questions to experts in various skills. My name is ***** ***** I'll be happy to help you today.

I'm sorry to hear about the cracks that you've seen.

Please tell me more about the history of these, and when they were first seen.

When was the property last surveyed?

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Customer: replied 10 days ago.
Hi ! Thanks for getting back to me !The property is not ours it’s rented but o feel like it’s unsafe the crack appeared at the start of July and quickly spread. Since then more have appeared around the house inside and out. We have an arch way has a crack that goes diagonal away from it but it also is cracked all the way through the wall through the joint of where the archway is. Another door joint upstairs has a similar diagonal crack that goes all the way through every door other than that has some form of diagonal crack that is smaller not quite as thick and the wall underneath the window has a crack that goes diagonally through a plug socket and the window frame outside of the property has come away from the brick probably about 10 cm horizontal at the top and 15 cm vertical at the side I’ve attached some pictures
Customer: replied 10 days ago.
File attached (26VZ65M)
Expert:  Tim JA replied 10 days ago.

There will be many properties adversely affected by the long spell of dry weather and record high temperatures - the soil is drying out and shrinking and buildings will move.  This can be exacerbated if there are any tall trees close to the building.

The cracks should be reported to the owner/leaseholder so that they can initiate an insurance claim.  Has it been reported yet?

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Customer: replied 10 days ago.
I have reported it to them and they have said they will deal with it but the speed at which these cracks are appearing and the severity is not something I think can months for someone to have a look at. The front door is now not closing properly the base has bowed. Plaster is falling in the house to. My main concern is safety and knowing if the building is sound. We also have an unfinished cellar
Expert:  Tim JA replied 10 days ago.

If the landlord can't give you confidence that it's safe, then you need to give notice and move out.  if the cracks make the property uninhabitable then you already have a way out of the lease.

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Customer: replied 10 days ago.
Ah okay - yes they sent a contractor who is a builder to look and he said he would report back to them that was 3 weeks ago as I said that the since then everything is 10 times worse and they say that “we have to wait for the insurance company to look” so I really am just trying to see if We should be staying here at all with the window no longer secured to the property
Expert:  Tim JA replied 10 days ago.

If you didn't already live there, and viewed the property now, and the owner said "We looked at that three weeks ago" and "Yeah it's getting worse" and "I don't know when it will be fixed", would you sign the lease, or walk away?

Does that help you to see what you should do now?

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Customer: replied 10 days ago.
I cannot thank you enough ! You have been one of the most helpful I’ve spoken to about this.Thank you again !
Expert:  Tim JA replied 9 days ago.

You're welcome. I'm pleased to hear you are another Happy Customer. If you would like to ask me another question in the future, you can add me as a favourite Expert.

Have a great weekend :-)

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