The 10 Most Expensive Property Faults - #2 Foundations & Cracking
The soil conditions at the property will have a big bearing on the likelihood of any future structural movement and cracking. Clay based soils expand and contract considerably depending on the weather conditions. It is not uncommon for a property situated in clay for cracks to open and close in the external brickwork over the course of the year. Movement and cracking in properties mainly occurs as a result of changing soil conditions either beneath or around the outside of a dwelling.
Common causes of structural movement in foundations and cracking include a burst water pipe, a leaking stormwater pipe or sewer pipe, a large tree close to the property with interfering roots, concreting up to the external walls of a dwelling where a garden bed used to exist, poor drainage around the outside of the dwelling or run-off from an adjoining property. In most cases, the property owner only finds out about these problems once the damage has occurred.
If timber stumps beneath a dwelling deteriorate and rot out, you can easily replace them with new concrete stumps which will bring the dwelling back into alignment. However, if you have to stabilise or strengthen an external brick wall, then this is a totally different matter and a far more expensive to fix. When inspecting a property, it is very important to look at the gaps where the door and window frames butt up against the external brickwork. If there is any more than a 3 mm - 5 mm gap alongside the door or window opening, it means that there has been more than just initial settlement in the foundation after construction of the dwelling.
Another tell tale sign of movement in the external brickwork is the opening up and separation of the timber beading and fascia boards on the external corners of the dwelling. Any lay person or inexperienced house hunter can easily follow these methods that could save them several thousand dollars in underpinning a dwelling. The terminology underpinning, is the method where soil is removed beneath the existing concrete footing and replaced with additional concrete together with pins or wedges driven into the gap between both sections of concrete and filled with caulking to help stabilize an affected of external brickwork. Underpinning an external brick wall will strengthen the foundation but apart from in some circumstances, it won’t close up any large cracks or gaps alongside door and window openings.
