Process steps
What happens after you report subsidence
Soil movement can cause diagonal cracks above windows, doors that jam, floors that are no longer level, or a split where one section of the building pulls away from another. The steps below take the job from your first description to the finished repair and the records handed over.
Describe the damage
Put the property address in the form and say in a few lines what you have noticed: cracks above a window or door, a step in the brickwork, a floor that has dropped toward one corner, or a frame that no longer closes properly. Say which way the cracks run, about how wide they are, and when they first appeared. Say whether the problem looks the same now or has got worse. A photo taken next to a coin or a pen gives the specialist a sense of scale. The quote is free of charge.
A phone call from a specialist
A subsidence specialist will ring you to go over what you have described and ask a few more questions. They will want to know the age of the house, the soil beneath it if you are aware of it, whether trees with large roots stand close by, and whether a drain or gutter has been losing water near the base of the house. Mention now if an insurer has already opened a claim.
Establishing the cause
From your account, the specialist judges whether a visit to the property will add anything. Where movement looks active, crack monitors can be fitted to take readings over several weeks. The pattern shows whether the building is still shifting, whether clay soil is drying and shrinking, or whether the structure has settled into a stable position. That evidence decides the repair method.
Your free written quote
When the specialist has enough information, they write down the likely cause and price the repair that addresses it. Repairs might involve removing a tree whose roots dry out shrinkable clay, using resin injection to stabilise the ground, tying cracks together, or underpinning so the foundation reaches a more solid layer. You are not charged for the quote.
The repair is carried out
The specialist confirms access, sets out which parts of the house and garden will be disturbed, and agrees a programme before work begins. The scope follows the evidence. A house that has stopped moving does not receive work beyond what the findings support.
Documents handed over
When the repair is finished, the specialist prepares a report covering the cause, the work performed, and the state of the property at that moment. Store any certificate the specialist provides with your property records. Insurers, mortgage lenders and the solicitors acting for buyers ask for records of past ground movement.
Free, no-obligation
Ask for a free quote
Describe the cracking or movement you have noticed and where the property is. A specialist will reply with the likely cause and a free written quote.
- No obligation to proceed
- Specialist firms across the United Kingdom
- Crack monitoring, resin injection and underpinning available
- Free quote on every enquiry
Process steps
What you get
- A free written quote naming the likely cause and the repair recommended
- Crack monitoring readings where monitors were installed during the investigation
- A completion report from the specialist setting out the work carried out
- A completion certificate if the specialist issues one at the end of the job