How to spot subsidence this summer

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How to spot subsidence this summer

Wed 17th Jun 2009

With the summer months expected to yield some unusually warm weather, one website has advised homeowners to be wary of subsidence and has offered some tips on how to spot it.

According to MoneySupermarket.com, hot spells can cause the ground around a property to dry and become more volatile, so homeowners should be on their guard against cracks which appear or grow in walls.

Also of concern are damaged drains, as well as trees, which should be maintained to stop them overpowering the soil, the price comparison site advises.

Furthermore, it may be worth underpinning homes which have had concrete poured into the foundations, it adds, and checking with the Land Registry to see if any other local properties have suffered from subsidence could also pay dividends.

Head of home insurance at MoneySupermarket.com Steve Sweeney explained that there is only cause for alarm when "cracks are wider than a thumb", because "some cracking will occur naturally in buildings; in those cases though, they should immediately alert their insurer to assess the situation".

Meanwhile, one of the country's newest transport hubs, Heathrow's Terminal 5, has been hit with subsidence as it is built on London clay that has shifted slightly since it opened last spring.

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