Before you call
Common questions about subsidence in Havering homes
Read through the answers below before picking up the phone. If your home still worries you after reading, send an enquiry. There is no charge for asking and no obligation to proceed.
Why cracks appear in plaster and brickwork
A crack in a wall does not always mean the ground beneath your home has failed. Plaster dries out, timber shrinks and older houses settle over decades without any structural problem. The difficulty is telling the harmless marks from the ones that point to movement in the foundations.
Subsidence cracks tend to be wider at one end than the other. They often run diagonally across a wall and follow the mortar joints between bricks rather than cutting straight through them. You might notice them near windows or doors, where the wall is weakest. A specialist surveyor looks at the pattern, measures the width and checks whether the crack is still opening before deciding if the ground is moving.
Hairline cracks that have been there since you moved in are usually nothing to worry about. New cracks that widen over weeks or months need attention. A structural engineer can monitor them with small glass tell-tales or digital gauges to see if movement continues.
How the ground under Havering changes things
Havering sits on a mix of London Clay, river terrace gravels and areas of made ground left over from old gravel pits and airfields. Each type of soil behaves differently when the weather changes or when water moves through it.
London Clay shrinks in dry summers and swells when rain returns. Houses built on shallow strip footings move with the clay. This seasonal heave and shrinkage causes cracks to open and close slightly with the weather. Made ground compresses unevenly because it was never laid down as solid earth. Gravel is generally stable but washes away easily if a drain leaks nearby.
Knowing what lies beneath your home matters because the repair method depends on it. Resin injection works well in clay by filling voids and stabilising the soil. Underpinning reaches past weak layers to firm strata below. Screw piling bypasses soft ground entirely. A geotechnical report tells the specialist which approach suits your street.
Trees, drains and leaking pipes
Large trees close to a house draw moisture from the soil through their roots. In clay, this dries the ground out further than summer heat alone. Oaks, willows and poplars are the most demanding species. Removing a tree suddenly can cause the opposite problem: the clay reabsorbs water and swells, pushing foundations upward.
Leaking drains and broken soakaways wash fine particles out of gravel and sand, leaving empty spaces under footings. You might not see standing water. The damage happens slowly underground. A CCTV drain survey finds fractures and blocked joints that allow water to escape into the surrounding soil.
Both problems produce similar cracks in walls. Finding the root cause takes investigation rather than guesswork. Specialists use trial holes, level surveys and pipe testing to work out whether vegetation, water loss or both are responsible before recommending any foundation repair.
What happens after you ask for help
Sending an enquiry does not commit you to buying anything. It starts a conversation about what you have noticed at home. Someone will ask about the age of your house, the type of walls and how long the cracks have been visible.
If the details suggest possible subsidence, a site visit follows. A structural engineer or surveyor inspects the walls inside and out, checks door and window frames for distortion and looks at the ground conditions around the perimeter. They may dig a small trial hole next to the foundations to see how deep they go and what soil they sit on.
After the inspection you receive a written report. It explains what was found, whether the movement is ongoing and what options exist to stop it. You can then decide whether to proceed with repairs, seek a second opinion or simply monitor the situation for a few months. The choice stays yours throughout.
Signs that something might be wrong with your home
Movement in the ground shows itself gradually. You might spot one thing out of place and wonder if it matters. These are the signs homeowners in Havering notice first.
- 1
Diagonal cracks near windows
Cracks wider at the top than the bottom, running through plaster or brickwork beside window openings, often suggest differential movement in the wall.
- 2
Doors that stick or jam
Frames distort when walls shift. A door that used to close freely but now catches on the frame may indicate the opening has changed shape.
- 3
Gaps around skirting boards
Floors dropping slightly away from walls leave visible gaps at the base. This can happen when the ground beneath the slab settles unevenly.
- 4
Rippled wallpaper at corners
Paper creases or tears where two walls meet if one side moves independently of the other. The adhesive holds while the plaster shifts behind it.
Questions people ask before calling
These come up often from homeowners who have spotted a crack and want to know what to do next.
- Will my insurance cover it?
- Buildings insurance usually covers subsidence damage, but policies vary. An insurer typically sends their own surveyor before approving a claim.
- How long does repair work take?
- Small resin injections might finish in a day. Full underpinning projects take several weeks, depending on access and the depth required.
- Do I need to move out?
- Most foundation repairs happen from outside. You can usually stay in your home unless internal floors need lifting or extensive rebuilding.
- Is monitoring enough?
- Sometimes. If cracks are seasonal and stable, a surveyor may recommend watching them for twelve months before doing any structural work.
- Does fixing it add value?
- Properly repaired subsidence removes a defect from the property record. Buyers and lenders prefer homes with documented, completed foundation work.
Tell someone what you have seen at home
Describe the cracks or movement you have noticed. Your message goes to a local specialist who handles subsidence in Havering. Sending it costs nothing and does not oblige you to accept any repair work.
- No cost to enquire
- Local specialists only
- No obligation to proceed