Subsidence is one of the most serious problems a property can suffer. It may not only affect the structural safety of your house, but also its resale value.

If you think you have noticed signs of subsidence at home (or outside), don't worry. Spotting subsidence signs early gives you the opportunity to minimize the house subsidence repair cost and prevent the damage from developing further. Even in the worst case, there are ways to deal with it and then take preventive measures for the future.

What is subsidence?

Subsidence, the sinking of the grounding, is a very specific problem. When the ground below your house collapses or sinks, the foundations of some buildings will appear. When one side sinks, this will put pressure on the structure of your home, causing cracks to appear.

Heave is a different problem. This is usually due to the growth of tree roots under your foundation. When the ground moves upwards and forces the foundation to move upwards. Another cause of heave is landslides or landslides, the land is washed away and takes up part of the property or foundation.

When the ground below the house sinks or collapses, subsidence occurs. The problem is serious when the ground below the house sinks at different speeds, as this will cause the foundation of the house to be misaligned, thereby threatening the structural integrity of the building.

What are the signs of subsidence?

Cracks in the walls, especially in older houses, are not always signs of subsidence. Watch out for the following cracks:

• Appears near doors or windows
• Wider than 3 mm
• Visible inside and outside
• Diagonally across the wall
• Other signs to watch out for include:
• Ripple wallpaper
• Doors and windows stick when opening and closing
• A crack appears between the property and the expansion
• The house looks sloping or unstable

Your house may be battling settlement, and you will never know because it may be dormant for many years before the signs show up. If your home is built on clay soil, surrounded by large trees, or has experienced long hot and dry summers, then your house may be at greater risk.

How much does subsidence devalue a property?

The amount of subsidence that devalues your property is at least the cost to fix subsidence. Plus an additional 10-25% of the asking price. You'd better solve the problem yourself and check your insurance policy to see if this covers settlement repairs. 

The reason that the subsidence depreciates the property is the high subsidence repair costs. So the number of people preparing to buy properties suffered from subsidence is limited. This is the reason for the decrease in value due to the decrease in demand.

If there is subsidence, the reason the property has depreciated so much is the cost to fix subsidence. However, the only potential buyers who can buy properties that have subsided are cash buyers.

If you are a real estate agent, you need to take this into consideration when they offer to buy a property that has subsidence. Not all properties with subsidence need underpinning. But whether this is the case needs to be decided by the structural engineer.

Average Subsidence Repair Costs

In the worst case of subsidence, your house may need to install some strong type of foundations. This is not only costly but also destructive.

In severe cases, the cost to fix subsidence can be as high as £50,000 or so. However, this is very rare. Most subsidence repair costs are much lower than this, and you can expect to pay an average cost of approximately £5,000 to £15,000.

Foundation repairs have never been a quick or easy task. You must follow a process that includes spotting signs of subsidence, making a diagnosis of the history of subsidence, and then continuing to solve the problem based on the severity of the foundation problem.

Aesthetic repair costs

One of the costs of subsidence repair processing is to deal with aesthetic issues in your home. As settlement worsens, cracks will become larger, gypsum will peel off, the wallpaper will wrinkle at the edges, and brickwork may be displaced.

These problems can make your home look unattractive. When these problems get worse over time, repairing the paint, redoing the wallpaper, or correcting the problem will incur additional costs. Not to mention, these aesthetic issues will reduce the value of your property when reselling your home. When repairing gypsum board and plaster, the cost can easily exceed $5,000 for a 2,000-square-foot house.

Functional cost of subsidence

In addition to the aesthetic threat to your property, if the subsidence is not dealt with in time, there are many functional issues waiting for you. As the subsidence problem gets worse, the weakest structural point in your home may become problematic.

You will usually see door and window problems first. Deformation may cause windows or doors to stick and mold cracks. The average median cost of replacing windows is US$500, while the cost of replacing doors is between US$250 and US$800.

In the case of severe subsidence, when the house moves on the foundation, the pipes and wires may be damaged. This may cause problems with electrical functions and plumbing functions. Although this may be unpleasant when you first notice the problem, it may be dangerous in the long run.

According to HomeGuide, the average cost of refurbishing a house is between US$2,280 and US$5,120, while the cost of rewiring is between US$1,611 and US$7,801.

The catastrophic cost of subsidence

In the extreme case of subsidence, it may cause huge structural damage to your house. If you start to notice serious structural damage, health and safety will become an issue. When the subsidence becomes so severe, there is no time to waste and immediate action must be taken.

As the damage becomes structural, it may add tens of thousands of dollars to the cost of repair. This will also increase other costs, including the possibility of remodeling entire parts of the house, digging out the house area, and temporarily moving out of the house.

If you think your house is in subsidence, please contact your insurance company as soon as possible. They will arrange a comprehensive investigation to confirm whether this is a real subsidence case.

With construction insurance, you are protected from subsidence and ground heave, although there are some exclusions, for example, if the subsidence is due to construction or demolition, or due to material or workmanship defects. For more detailed information, please check the wording of your policy.

In some cases, the problem may be monitored; this includes digging a hole next to your home to find out the cause of the problem and tracking the distance and speed of the property movement. This may take about a year.

In most cases, this will end in finding and eliminating the cause of the subsidence. However, in severe cases, your house may need to provide structural support through a process called "bracing" to help strengthen the foundation.

Subsidence resin injection cost

This method uses chemicals mixed with a special hardener and injected into the soil beneath and surrounding the foundations. The chemical mixture expands and fills small cavities in the foundations and the soil. It then hardens, providing support for the entire building. With repeated use of this material. it's possible to lift the structure to allow for leveling

Subsidence Repair Companies in the UK

1. Mainmark UK
2. Geobear
3. Checkatrade
4. Petercox
5. Trustatrader