A buyer contacted SERL following their chartered surveyor’s report. The surveyor recommended us due to our well-known expertise and independence and following sighting various cracks inside and out.
The client sought our expertise in residential structural engineers’ reports, especially within the Croydon, North Surrey area.
In response to the client’s requirements our qualified Chartered Structural Engineer recommended a General Structural Inspection 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.
Constructed around the 1930s, the property was a purpose-built first-floor flat featuring a solid wall construction underneath a pitched roof.
The local geology consists of sand and gravel, not the more normal London Clay. Several large trees were scattered around the property, and the drains were situated nearby at the rear.
As a result of our inspection we observed several vertical cracks, each no wider than 1 mm, beneath the window openings on all sides of the building. The nature of these cracks suggests they were a result of thermal expansion of the render, rather than from settlement or subsidence.
Some cracks extended through the wall, and the possibility of bomb damage could not be dismissed, considering the site’s infill characteristics and the close proximity of nearby Victorian buildings.
We advised repairing the cracks, primarily to maintain the building’s structural integrity and prevent water ingress, at an estimated cost of approximately £5,000.
We are confident that the cracks did not indicate any ongoing settlement or subsidence.