A prospective buyer contacted SERL based on recommendations from their RICS chartered surveyor and the vendor’s estate agent. Both parties endorsed us due to our well-known independence.
The buyer sought our expertise in structural engineers’ reports, especially within the West London area. They needed a report to address the concerns of their mortgage surveyor, who identified internal cracking, before approving any loan finance. The cracking was located towards the rear of the property between the main rear wall and the flank wall of the rear projection.
In response to the client’s requirements our qualified Chartered Structural Engineer recommended a General Structural Inspection (GSI) report.
SERL offers two types of structural reports:
1) A localised, specific, and limited Specific Structural Inspection (SSI) report or a Structural Engineers Defect Report.
2) A broader General Structural Inspection Report (GSI) or Structural Engineers General Movement Report which focuses only on matters of cracking and movement.
Our inspection of the external structure revealed no significant modern-day cracking. Usually, the external envelope is the first to show signs of movement. However, unusually, pronounced cracking was observed internally. This was specifically on a central loadbearing wall where an outdated serving hatch, common in the 1960s and 1970s, had been installed between the kitchen and dining room.
The installation of this serving hatch had inadvertently removed a substantial portion of the loadbearing wall, causing the remaining sections to become over-stressed and settle over time.
We were satisfied that the cracking was the result of historic settlement and not modern day subsidence. This issue was, unusually, linked to weight loading and the redistribution caused by creating a service hatch in a load-bearing pillar. There was no indication of external subsidence.
Our structural engineer’s report allowed the mortgage surveyor to approve the loan and for the buyer to budget for routine crack repairs. It is likely the buyers will also remove the outdated service hatch.
The purchaser identified a chartered structural engineer as the appropriate professional to provide the specialist opinion needed for the mortgage approval. On this occasion, we were able to confirm that no current subsidence was occurring, which typically concerns lenders.