1980s external porch cracking

3 years ago

Hello,
My external porch has substantial cracking, in parts you can see all the way through.

It’s from about waist height up to the ceiling where is joins the house and then horizontally too in places.

I’ll be getting some builders round when that possible but in the meantime I’d be really interested if anyone has any advice or suggestions for repairing versus replacing.

If it does need to be a replacing, I’d love to have something which gives more useable space or even better looks nice!!

However it does have a part wall with next door’s partial porch and has the gas meter on the front and the electric meter inside.

Thanks for any help in advance.

Btw I’m in the oxford area if any local builders are interested.

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Comments (4)

E D
3 years ago
Im no expert, but I would think repairing the cracks without knowing the cause of the cracks, which could well be a foundation/footing problem, is unwise.

Is the porch a later addition?
K Wheeler
Original Author
3 years ago
Hi, thanks for your comment. I’m expecting the builders so say it need investigation and most likely replacement. Just optimistically hoping it might be repairable.

It was original, no works or trees nearby which could be affecting the foundation. From what I can see the neighbours (all identical houses) don’t seem to be having the same issues.
Thanks
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arc3d
3 years ago
Hi K,

My guess is it's going to be that down pipe or those bushes. If that downpipe goes to a soakaway and the soakaway is clogged up the water will be collecting under the porch and softening the ground under the porch. Because it is single brick thick, those bushes wouldn't need much to start pulling it apart. They drain the water out of the soil which causes the the soil to shrink and so the building starts to sink. 90s mass produced housing wasn't know for using the best mortar or building materials in general.

In my opinion if you investigate these two you should find the cause and your porch is very repairable because its a single storey structure which means its not carrying any load. Also steer clear of companies that claim to be subsidence "experts" any good builder should be able to fix it. Replacing could work out very expensive if you want to move the meters.

You could try digging a hole near the front corner and investigate it yourself.
Rowland
3 years ago
it looks like the porch was enclosed with the door after the original build. looking at the cracks it probably is the case that the new wall was built to provide the new door and window entrance area. the new wall was probably built without a foundation or with a shallow foundation. the plants that are close to the porch may be causing some localised shrinkage in the soil.

the result may be that the new wall is settling differentially. if the cracking is wider at the top than the bottom then it is settlement, if it is wider at the bottom then it is heave.

In addition to the above the wall looks as though it was built without a brick starter being fixed to the main wall.

you should dig a hole next to the wall to find the bottom of the foundation for the wall. if it is shallow you could get it underpinned locally, but you might prefer to have it removed and rebuilt, which is probably going to be the same cost or cheaper than the work to underpin the area.

hope this helps!!

Rowland

1980s external porch cracking

Comments (4)

E D

K Wheeler
Original Author

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arc3d

Rowland

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1980s external porch cracking

Comments (4)

E D

K WheelerOriginal Author

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arc3d

Rowland

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K Wheeler
Original Author