Cracked plaster ; leaking roof ?

[FuerteStu]

2 hours ago, Pocster said:

Kitchen sink waste and boiler overflow 

Both go straight into the drain 

Gut feeling, it's there the problem is.. 

 

The dropped slabs suggest there is something washing away underneath, if there's water degrading around the foundations at that point, even a slight drop would cause the gap to form 16 feet above. Effectively, the foundation joint between the house and extension is a pivot. 

[Mr Punter]

Next door looks a bit rough as well.

[Pocster]

1 hour ago, FuerteStu said:

Gut feeling, it's there the problem is.. 

 

The dropped slabs suggest there is something washing away underneath, if there's water degrading around the foundations at that point, even a slight drop would cause the gap to form 16 feet above. Effectively, the foundation joint between the house and extension is a pivot. 

Who should come and look at this ?

Or do I wait ? ; see if it gets worse ?

[ToughButterCup]

9 hours ago, Pocster said:

Who should come and look at this ?

Or do I wait ? ; see if it gets worse ?

 

Apologies for my somewhat tart response earlier....😑

 

Nothing is going to happen quickly, it's very important but not urgent.

 

Over the next year,

 

Inspect, measure, document, plan , execute. Replan.

Rinse, repeat.

Build a list of facts.

When that's done,the job specification will write itself 

 

You might want to look at similar houses in the immediate vicinity. Repeated patterns? 

Anyone else locally had the same thing happen? Who fixed it, how?

 

We inherited a house with similar symptoms and found that there were at least 6 others with exactly the same problem in the same row. (Broken foul drain scouring out the foundations leading to multiple diagonal cracks in the stair well - " broken back" )

 

Been up on the roof yet? 

 

The surveyor taught me a simple trick about the cracks...

Insert a piece of card (paper or plastic) in the crack leaving enough of the card outside the crack such that the card is able to move with the fissure (but not fall out in a bit of wind). In other words create a telltale. Watch it. Or photograph it over the next few months. That will show you the rate of change. Helps you decide how urgent the issue is.

 

Now, how's that leak - leaking or not?

[Pocster]

1 minute ago, ToughButterCup said:

Now, how's that leak - leaking or not?

Which leak ? So many !

[ToughButterCup]

Any external cracks by the way?

[Pocster]

1 hour ago, ToughButterCup said:

Any external cracks by the way?

Nope .

[Pocster]

Was at the property today . Noticed some light cracking downstairs and indeed the pavers have dropped .

I forgot that a few months ago tenants blocked the drain with Wetwipes . Had raw sewage up from the house to over the pavers .

Guessing that could contribute to some movement 

[Pocster]

[Iceverge]

3 hours ago, Pocster said:

forgot that a few months ago tenants blocked the drain with Wetwipes. 

 

Should be banned! 

 

Infact ban toilet paper too.

 

Bidet, bidet toilet seat or shattaff and a day of sewer cleaning for anyone who blocks it subsequently. 

 

 

[Kelvin]

Ever since you started talking about leaks I’ve been getting the ‘find that leak’ guy videos fed to me. Quite interesting watching his process for finding leaks. It’s mainly burst pipes he seems to deal with and swimming pools. 

Edited August 8 by Kelvin

[Pocster]

11 minutes ago, Iceverge said:

 

Should be banned! 

 

Infact ban toilet paper too.

 

Bidet, bidet toilet seat or shattaff and a day of sewer cleaning for anyone who blocks it subsequently. 

 

 

Whilst you jest. "eco"wet wipes are a true nightmare.

 

I've had issues with these in different properties. Naturally tenants think they are ok to flush...

But - if you have seen 100's of wet wipes backing up out a drain with sewage it ain't funny.

 

[Pocster]

Right I've been informed this crack is worse. I'm going to look at it tomorrow. The roof leaks still there - roofer supposedly attending tomorrow to do that.

 

On the assumption this crack isn't just from the leak how do I approach the insurance company?. Do I approach them first?; what do I do?

 

Cheers

[Pocster]

On 03/08/2025 at 21:13, FuerteStu said:

Gut feeling, it's there the problem is.. 

 

The dropped slabs suggest there is something washing away underneath, if there's water degrading around the foundations at that point, even a slight drop would cause the gap to form 16 feet above. Effectively, the foundation joint between the house and extension is a pivot. 

I'm being to think this is the issue. This under pinning yes?. Will insurance cover this? The reason I asked is we had a water tank in the loft fail and cause 5k of damage. That counts as escape of water. This though effectively sub sidence? - well insurer claim I'm not covered for this i.e. 2 "water" issues ? even though clearly they are unrelated.

[Pocster]

Ok checked with broker i.e. not talked to insurer and I am covered for subsidence . So do I tell insurer now that "I think theres a problem" . Do they send an expert out to look?

[FuerteStu]

Any chance you could speak with the neighbours and see if they've been affected?

 

Looks like theirs is a mirror image of yours? 

 

If your side is worse than theirs, it hints that the problem is on your side. If they've got the same problem, you might find that it's a bigger issue. 

[Onoff]

Could this be a bust water main eroding underneath?

[Pocster]

Had another look 

looks same too me . Can see red brick in some of the cracked plaster . Zero cracking outside which I find really strange if subsidence .

Got someone looking today who will go in eaves and maybe remove some of the plaster . I suspect the brickwork is solid ( fact I could see it and no obvious cracks in brickwork) - but requires investigation