I will start by saying that I'm not great when it comes to things like buildings, construction etc. I've tried to keep in touch with things through reading.
But when it's not your thing, at some point things just go over your head. And soon you find you don't know who to trust and what the right approach/resolution should be.
Now with that out of the way:
I've got some cracks in the house. A structural engineer (paid by my insurance) has come out saying that my builder should look at it. Not wanting to turn this into a finger pointing exercise yet,
I'd like to get inputs from those in the know. Pictures of the cracks can be seen here:
https://imgur.com/a/XUmo5HU
I've also included images of the trusses taken by the engineer.
These are the exact observations/points noted by the engineer:
For the purposes of this report assume that the building faces due east. The following comments are made based on on-site observations:
- Repairs have been carried out to the external brickwork in the area behind the garage and also to the internal wall linings of the garage which were extensively cracked. These areas have not re-cracked.
- There is cracking in the ceiling of the Hall on the 2nd level. There is also localised compression damage to the cornices on the 2nd floor ceiling that coincide with the roof trusses.
- An inspection within the roof space revealed that the trusses have settled to such an extent that they are now bearing on the non-load bearing internal wall. The connector angle between the bottom chord of the truss and the top plate of the timber wall frame has reached the end of its sliding capacity. As a result, two of the brackets have buckled. The cornice and plasterboard ceiling damage, is the result of the settlement of the roof trusses.
- An inspection of the individual trusses found no damage to the connections indicating any truss failure.
- The most likely cause of the truss settlement is settlement of one end of the trusses.
- These particular trusses are supported on the 2nd storey external walls. The southern 2nd storey external wall is located over the garage requiring a steel beam to transfer the load to each end of the garage.
- One end of the steel beam is supported on the steel lintel over the front garage door opening. There is no damage to the brickwork above the lintel to indicate any deflection or movement of the steel lintel beam.
- The other end of the steel beam is supported on a steel column within the rear wall of the garage. This is the exact location that has undergone significant settlement in the past.
- It is evident that the foundation slab at the rear of the garage has settled approximately 20 mm. This has distorted the rear pedestrian door frame and caused the large cracks that have previously been repaired.
- Settlement of the foundation slab at the rear end of the garage would ultimately result in settlement of one end of the steel beam and therefore loss of support for the Southern external wall, this has ultimately caused the damage to both upstairs and downstairs wall and ceiling linings.
- The other end of the roof trusses is supported on the North wall which is continuous over the full height of the building. There is no cracking in this external brickwork that would indicate any movement or settlement along this wall.
- A review of historical aerial images taken from Nearmaps revealed that some large trees were removed in late 2015 that were growing close to the house. These may have been removed as a result of the previous engineering advice as they would have a significant influence on the soil moisture content and therefore the stability of the foundation slab.
- Based on the fact that there is no damage to the wall linings of the garage, that were cracked and subsequently repaired due to previous slab settlement, I am of the opinion that this area of the slab has not undergone any recent movements.
- It maybe that the upper storey wall frames were able to cope with the lack of support provided by the steel beam across the garage up until recently and have undergone some stress relief by settling back onto the steel beam. This would result in cracking in the wall linings of the external wall and settlement of the trusses.
- The damage to the ceilings and walls of the lower storey may be the direct result of the internal walls now being load bearing due to the load applied by the settlement of the trusses. These internal walls would now be carrying roof loads.
- Due to the lack of damage to the lower floor external walls I am of the opinion that the foundation slab has not undergone any recent movements and that therefore soil moisture variations have not contributed to the cause of this recent damage.
- There is also a lack of evidence that the recent damage is the result of any insurable event.
- I have not had access to the Structural Engineering plans, however, based on the degree of settlement of the slab at the rear the garage I suspect that the slab has not been correctly engineered for the high point load exerted by the steel column at that location
A few other things to note:
- This house was built in 2009.
- On the south-west side of the house, I've got a path from the garden leading to the garage. That path is pebbled.
- I've been informed that it should really be concreted to minimise moisture soaking into the ground in that area. Now the landscaping/pebbles were not done by the builder. It was done by another party (assigned by the developer).
According to my builder and my insurer's engineer, the current recommendation is to have that area completely sealed. What has been done back 2009 is no longer acceptable if done today.
Anyway, I'd love to get some inputs on what the issues are here and where the responsibilities may lie. If I've got to, unfortunately, fix it all myself, I'd like to do so knowing it was just down to 'bad luck' and it really isn't say the builder's fault.
But if the builder should take responsibility, then I'd like to know that much as well. If you have any other suggestions as I work my way in getting these issues fixed, I appreciate that very much.
Thank you in advance.