How to Find Out if My House is Subsiding

House subsidence is what homeowners fear. According to Today’s Conveyancer, around 7.65 million homes in the UK are exposed to subsidence risks. Subsidence can be incredibly destructive, especially when left untreated. That’s why it’s important that you find out, as soon as possible, whether or not your house is subsiding. Not only does this give you the chance to have the problem fixed, it also prevents the problem from becoming increasingly worse. 

Property subsidence can become so bad that it causes the structure to noticeably lean to one side, or collapse completely. With this in mind, here’s how you can tell if your house is subsiding, even if it’s in the early stages. Not only will we tell you how you can confirm if your house is subsiding, but we’ll also give you some other useful information, such as what causes it and what it means, exactly.

What does it mean if my house is subsiding?

A subsiding house refers to a house that has become structurally compromised by the movement of the building foundations and/or the soil that sits underneath it. Usually, foundations become weakened by the shifting of the soil it sits on top of, usually if it’s clay. 

Although, house subsidence can occur if the foundations themselves are old or weak or foundations that are laid too thinly or are simply lacking integrity, generally. As such, the structure that sits on top of those foundations will move, subsequently causing damage that can be extensive, if not treated in good time. But what causes house subsidence? If you know why it happens, you can help prevent it in the future.

What causes house subsidence?

There are many reasons why your home might be sinking. From fluctuations in soil moisture to poorly-built foundations, it’s not always easy to pinpoint the exact cause of house subsidence, especially if the structure is particularly large or is an older property. However, there are still multiple reasons as to why a house might be subsiding, and they include:

Clay soil shrinkage or expansion

Clay soil is more susceptible than any other type of soil to expansion and contraction. This is normally down to either extremely wet or extremely dry conditions. If the clay goes from being wet to drying out quickly, it causes voids and gaps to form, therefore weakening the ground underneath. 

This then causes the foundations to move along with the soil. There’s not much a homeowner can do to rectify clay soil, but you can use a method of underpinning that fills and strengthens the voids that were formed. This is called the resin injection method, but we’ll discuss this in more detail later on in the article.

Poorly-built foundations

If your house foundations are built poorly, then they’re unlikely to be strong enough to withstand the structural weight of the building for the long term. This is usually an issue with older properties as opposed to new builds.. Poorly-built foundations either aren’t made from the right materials or they’re not deep enough for the site.

Foundations that have become weak with age

If you have a particularly old property, then one of the most likely reasons why your house might be subsiding is that the foundations themselves are old and have likely become weaker as a result. 

This is a natural progression as the property ages, so it may not suggest an issue with voids and gaps in the soil underneath. Either way, you will need a treatment that will minimise ground movement to prevent the foundations from shifting any further.

Tree roots

If you have trees that are planted too close to the house, or large shrubs, this can cause house subsidence. The tree roots will extract as much moisture as possible from the ground, therefore causing the soil to shrink. 

If the soil shrinks, it leaves gaps and voids that could cave in. In addition, those gaps and voids will subsequently make the soil under the foundations weaker, therefore providing the right conditions for subsidence to occur.

Soil expansion and contraction

This is what happens during extreme weather or temperatures. When the weather is particularly hot, clay soil will shrink, but it will expand when it becomes cold and wet. It’s also more susceptible to subsidence if there are big, quick fluctuations in temperatures

What are the signs that my house is subsiding?

There are multiple signs that subsidence is at play throughout your property. The most common and most looked-for sign is cracks in brickwork and walls. While this doesn’t necessarily indicate subsidence when found in isolation, if you notice the following signs in combination with that, you could be looking at a subsidence issue for your property. The signs of house subsidence are as follows:

• Cracks around doors and windows
• Cracks in interior or exterior walls that run in a zig-zag pattern
• Cracks that form that you can put your little finger into
• Sloping or sinking floors and/or ceilings
• Extensions, conservatories or bay windows that are coming away from the rest of the house
• Doors and windows that will not open
• Doors and windows that you cannot close

How can I confirm if my house is subsiding? 

While these things don’t always spell subsidence issues (read our article about ‘when is subsidence not subsidence?’), it’s possible to have a subsidence survey carried out by a professional subsidence expert, such as our team of dedicated specialists here at Geobear. We are pleased to offer meticulous subsidence surveys that will either confirm or discount the possibility of subsidence, giving you absolute peace of mind when you need it most. 

We understand how challenging the discovery of subsidence can be, which is why we will give you a detailed report on our findings. If we find that there are some problems, we will advise you on the next steps to take. If, however, we don’t find any signs of subsidence, we’d be delighted to tell you the good news. For subsidence surveys that you can trust, look to Geobear for help.

How can I fix house subsidence?

Subsidence might seem like an overwhelming issue that’s almost impossible to rectify, but that’s not the case. These days, there are a wealth of underpinning methods available. Geobear is proud to have invented non-disruptive technology to underpin subsiding houses. This is also called the resin injection method. We will have no need to dig around your property to find its foundations. 

Instead, we will simply inject resin into the ground beneath the foundations. It is injected as a liquid, and travels though gaps and voids, expanding and solidifying as it goes. This strengthens the ground underneath, all whilst protecting the integrity of your garden and the surrounding area. You’ll be able to carry on with your everyday life whilst we perform our modern underpinning technique. It provides results that can be counted upon for decades to come.

If you would like further information about the resin injection method we use to rectify house subsidence, then get in touch with a member of our friendly, knowledgeable team today – we’re always pleased to hear from you.