susidence

Hi, From what you've described, I wouldn't jump straight to the conclusion that you have subsidence. A 2mm difference in floor level over seven years is extremely small and, in all honesty, could be down to normal settlement, construction tolerances, or even a difference that was present from day one but has only recently been noticed. True subsidence usually presents with other symptoms such as cracking to walls, separation at joints, doors or windows sticking, distorted frames, or ongoing movement that continues to worsen over time. Regarding the rainwater drainage, a conservatory should not simply discharge large volumes of water onto the ground next to the foundations. The downpipe should ultimately connect into a suitable surface water drainage system or discharge into a properly designed soakaway. Exactly how this is achieved depends on the site and the age of the property. However, the fact that your neighbour is having drainage installed does not automatically mean your conservatory was built incorrectly. Building methods, ground conditions, drainage routes and regulations can vary from one property to another, even on the same street. My first question would be whether you have noticed any cracking internally or externally around the conservatory, particularly where it joins the house. If the floor has genuinely dropped due to foundation movement, there is usually some visible evidence elsewhere in the structure. If there are no cracks, no sticking doors or windows, and the floor level difference is only around 2mm after seven years, my initial view would be that this sounds more like minor settlement rather than subsidence. That said, I would want to inspect where the conservatory downpipe discharges and whether the rainwater is being properly carried away from the building. Good drainage is always important, regardless of whether movement is occurring. If you can provide a couple of photos showing the downpipe discharge point and any areas where you're concerned about movement, I'd be happy to give a more informed opinion. Kind regards, Colin Prembuild Midlands Ltd

Hello you've probably had answers to this already, but just encase I thought I may be able to offer some advice as I have over 30 years in the conservatory & extension industry working predominantly as a conservatory and extensions surveyor. Ideally your conservatory guttering/downpipe should have been connected to an existing rainwater system, i.e. your house rainwater drainage system, or a new soakaway should have been built so that the conservatory rainwater could have been discharged away from your conservatory foundations, what has probably happened is your rainwater from the conservatory has caused foundational underwash, this is where the constant discharge of the rainwater into a concentrated area has weakened the subsoil allowing the weight of the conservatory to sink into what has now become unstable ground, you may not be able to fix the current subsidence issue, however, you can help prevent it from moving further by having a soakaway installed in the garden, this ideally should be 3 meters away from the conservatory as a minimum distance or even further if possible. Just a few questions, I wanted to know if it was exempt from building regulations so if you can answer these questions I will be able to tell you if it is exempt or if it should have had building regulations, that way, if it did require building regulations, the company that installed it would have had to make provisions to connect the rainwater to either and existing system or to a new soakaway. 1, Did the company remove the doors between the house and the conservatory? 2. Did the company install a radiator that's connected to the house heating system? 3. Is the conservatory less than 30M2? 4. Is the roof made of translucent materials, i.e. glass or polycarbonate? If you could let me know I may be able to offer you some further advice. Regards Brandon