Help, cracks and possible drainage issues (moved)

[KellyI23]

Hello,

We've recieved a survey and its recommended a drainage survey with CCTV due to cracks on the front elevation and in the kitchen. Copy below, is this fairly standard or should we worried?

There is cracking to the front elevation that is likely to be caused
by faulty drainage. A specialist drainage contractor’s report will therefore be required, which
should involve a pressure test, possibly followed by a CCTV inspection. If a defect is found, it is
likely that the drains will be able to be sleeved. However, if defects are found, some excavations
may be necessary as the subsoil/substrata beneath the foundations may have eroded away,
creating voids. Therefore, trial inspection pits will need to be dug to ensure that the matrix of the
earth is stable. If the soil is found to be unstable, further work to underpin the property may be
required. The drainage inspection and trial pits will need to be supervised by a Structural Engineer
who will then be able to provide you with a structural adequacy certificate, which will be required
for your buildings insurance. Once the drains are repaired, and/or the foundations are confirmed
as stable, the cracks can be repointed. All cracks should be raked out to a depth of around 2cm to
ensure a good key for the new mortar. Lime mortar and not cement should be used to allow the
brickwork to breathe. If no drain leakage is found, a Structural Engineer's Specification should be
obtained for any repair work necessary

 

[freddiemercurystwin]

Is this a home you're buying? What kind of survey?

 

[KellyI23]

It's a level 3 home buyer survey

 

[^woody^]

That's a lot of sentences based for just one crack word.

This is how I read it .... "Do all this work to the drains and excavation, and spend a lot of time and money doing it. Oh, but after all that, if it's nothing at all to do with the drains, (just to cover myself) spend a lot more money on a structural engineer to look for other possible causes that I should have looked for in the first place".

Drainage may need investigating for other reasons, but it looks more indicative of a shrinkage crack than foundation movement, I wonder how the surveyor jumped to a single conclusion?

And the "allow to breath" comment goes to show that the surveyor does not have a clue and may well get his information from internet forums where that phrase is rife. You don't see it in proper reports.

But one bonus point for including "the matrix of the earth is stable". WTF?

Go back to the surveyor and ask him to explain why this crack is drainage related and not one of the other several possible causes that could be explained and determined more expediently.

 

[Nige F]

Ah yes - the matrix. Jules Verne ?

 

[Ivor Windybottom]

I know exactly how the surveyor wrote this. Copied from his compendium of waffle paragraphs and pasted into the report wherever there's a minor crack.

It doesn't look like anything's sinking, one side isn't lower than the other. So it's more likely just shrinkage. If you can't fit your hand in the crack don't worry about it.

But you'd need to look at the building as a whole, if this is the full extent then forget it.

 

[KellyI23]

Thank you both, wtf is my exact thoughts. He wasn't particularly helpful when I asked for further information and signposted me back to the report. Paid £900 for a load of maybes. My anxiety pushed me to get a drainage survey and report just came back with the following which I'm hoping I don't need to worry about because its the water companies responsibility or am I wrong?

Sorry for more questions and thank you

Please note: Sections 1, 2 & 3 are shared lines and therefore the responsibility of Thames Water to maintain.
In Section 1, we found multiple cracks, and scale/encrustation built up in the line. The line passes through a buried
manhole, that is in the patio area.
In Section 2, we found multiple cracks, and scale/encrustation built up in the line.
In Section 3, we found the line passes through a poorly installed manhole that was assessed to be either under the
garage or within the neighbour’s boundary in close proximity to the garage,
We would recommend reporting the above to Thames Water for their consideration of action/repair.

 

[Ivor Windybottom]

If it carries anyone's waste other than solely yours then it's the water company's problem. Send them the report and tell them to fix it. They'll probably line it, which can usually be done without digging anything up.

Any pipes from your drains/house to any shared pipe are entirely your problem.

 

[Ivor Windybottom]

I didn't bother with a survey on this house, after seeing the surveyors that our buyers had paid £100s for. It seems to have become something of a scam industry.

 

[KellyI23]

Really is