Subsidence from leak

[braddock71]

hi,

we've recently had a soil pipe hole detected which is to be repaired soon (toilet not in use til done).

what i'm concerned about is the potential damage this has caused to walls/foundations and what I need to do to fix it. we have some damp in the walls which will hopefully now disappear but more worrying is a crack above the patio doors in the front room which is also matched by a crack on the outer wall (which we couldn't see when we bought the place nor could the surveyor due to a (conveniently placed) ivy plant).
i'm not so worried about the cracks nor the wall which can be fixed relatively easily, more that there could be more serious issues from the leak or is it the case that now the leak has stopped, we should keep any eye on it (especially if the cracks widen/change)?

appreciate any advice/comments...

 

[braddock71]

images of the 2 cracks mentioned above...

IMG_20160112_115351

• braddock71
• 12 Jan 2016

IMG_20160112_115329

• braddock71
• 12 Jan 2016

 

[theprinceofdarkness]

Looking at the window, the left hand side of the house is moving away from the right hand side. without details of where the crack is, where the leak and drain run is I can't say much more, though I am surprised by the crack, you must have a very large hole some where.
Frank

 

[braddock71]

the cracks are in the single story part of the front room which is around 6½m in length. here is a crude drawing of the layout and where the cracks are (the soil pipe is internal...)

Hoose

• braddock71
• 12 Jan 2016

 

[^woody^]

Once the leak has been repaired, you would normally leave the walls for up to a year (end of the summer/mid autumn probably) as the foundation will move up and the cracks close up.

Once that process has completed, you then do the repairs.

 

[braddock71]

Many thanks for responses - I'll post back after the long hot dry summer

 

[Doggit]

The cracks look too far away from the soil pipe to be a consideration; are then any cracks in either of the side walls. Strangely enough, the internal crack is in the corner of a window, and this would normally be reinforced by the lintel, and as the internal crack is on the opposite side of the wall to the internal crack, this suggest the foundations at the front may be iffy. Was the job signed off by building control. Have you considered calling your insurance over a possible subsidence claim and get them to monitor it.

It could be worth digging and exploratory trench by the cracks to see if there's any problems with the foundations. Possibly tree roots causing an issue.

 

[braddock71]

Once we found the leak, I've informed our buildings insurer. We have separate soil pipe cover so the repair was done today by them (bloke was able to use a sleeve to fix - did an excellent job, Pipe Scan).

The cracks are on the original part of the house although originally, there must have been a window there and has had the patio doors put in later. Is it possible these cracks are from poor workmanship from the door install?
No trees in close proximity so i don't think roots are an issue.

I could dig up near the wall and see what's happening with the foundation - soil quite soft these days!

 

[^woody^]

I could dig up near the wall and see what's happening with the foundation

Thats a complete waste of time, and I don't even know what you would supposed to be looking for.

 

[braddock71]

I like Woody's comments - so far have said it'll fix itself and don't do any manual labour. sweet.

 

[Doggit]

If the crack was on the same wall as the leak, then Woody be be right. But as they are so far away from it, the leak won't be causing the crack, so you need to look elsewhere. As you've now said that the a door has been put in place of an original window, I'd check to see if they put in a lintel first, as a lot of old wooden windows were strong enough to act as a lintel. Lazy double glazing fitters often didn't bother with lintels, and then the cracks start to appear. can you do a picture that shows the top of the door as well.

 

[braddock71]

thanks for reply - I'll chop some of the plaster away above the door and see what's there. we are planning on either changing the doors back to windows or new doors at some point so will sort it out properly then. In the meantime, i'll see what damage is behind crack. I thought it would be too far away from soil pipe leak to be a factor but wondered if the water might move along the wall.