Single skin box bedroom issues

[mjr001]

We have a 3 bed terrace with the 3rd bedroom a box bedroom built on top of the kitchen.

We have noticed that the external wall has appeared to have a bow in it. We moved into the house about 20 years ago and it was not noticeable then.

We are currently having some plastering work done and asked the builder about it. He took down a small 12" piece of the kitchen ceiling below it and said the bedroom is single brick skinned and has moved. Directly below the wall that bowed it looks like a single piece of what looks like 6x3 Timber used as a lintle running approx 5ft under the bricks.

We have not had any work done on this since we've had the house and the builder says this should have been picked up on the house survey when purchased.

My question is would house insurance cover this movement and bowing of an external wall ?

 

[conny]

I think it would depend on a number of things. It's very difficult to tell from looking inside and out if a wall is single or double skinned, especially if the interior is plastered or the outside rendered. If the bedroom was an addition after the original build was it notified to Land Registry? If it wasn't then LR should have your property listed as a 2 bed-roomed not a 3.
Insurance companies will try to wriggle out of paying for something if they can but it won't stop them upping your premiums next year even if you only enquired.
Best bet may be to get a reputable builder in and ask his opinion on what to do and the best way of going about contacting the insurance company.

 

[mjr001]

I think it would depend on a number of things. It's very difficult to tell from looking inside and out if a wall is single or double skinned, especially if the interior is plastered or the outside rendered. If the bedroom was an addition after the original build was it notified to Land Registry? If it wasn't then LR should have your property listed as a 2 bed-roomed not a 3.
Insurance companies will try to wriggle out of paying for something if they can but it won't stop them upping your premiums next year even if you only enquired.
Best bet may be to get a reputable builder in and ask his opinion on what to do and the best way of going about contacting the insurance company.

I have a builder doing some plastering at our house at the moment. He took a look and said about the single skin. The house was purchased as a 2/3 bedroom as at the time you had to go through a bedroom to get to the box bedroom. So I assume it's original. The builder said someone along the line has dropped a clanger on the survey as it should have been picked up especially as there is a piece of timber showing in the kitchen and also from outside above the window on the same room questions should have been asked on the survey. The only things brought up on the survey was a firewall to be built in the roof which was done before we exchanged.
Surely if the single skin room is original and now has a bowing wall would that not be classes as some sort of movement/subsidence and be covered under building insurance ?

 

[conny]

Surveys can vary depending on what type was carried out. If it was just a valuation survey then it's quite possible it wasn't picked up. If, however you stipulated a structural survey then it should have been noticed.
Taking this into account then I would suggest you obtain a written report from a structural surveyor or similar to confirm the wall is bulged and then submit a claim to your insurance with at least 3 quotes of the work to be carried out. They may send their own surveyor/loss adjuster out to see for themselves.

 

[^woody^]

"Should have been seen on a survey"? A survey 20 years ago? WTF? And you admit the bow was not noticeable then?
I hope your builder is better at plastering than he is at giving advice on defects, and house construction. Bless

And its wear and tear, not an insurance job.