Areas we cover for underpinning and subsidence repair

Which parts of Liverpool do you cover?

Much of our work in the city is in the south and east, where large numbers of Victorian, Edwardian and inter-war houses were built with bay windows, relatively shallow footings and gardens or roadsides that have since grown mature trees. In Aigburth and Mossley Hill that often means big period houses, some with cellars, close to Sefton Park and Otterspool. Allerton adds inter-war semis and detached homes with bays, while Woolton mixes older sandstone village properties with later semis and detached houses on larger plots.

Further east, Childwall has many inter-war and post-war semis that have been extended, which is where a crack at the junction between old and new is a common reason to call. Wavertree and Old Swan combine Victorian terraces with inter-war semis, and West Derby has a broad mix of Victorian, inter-war and post-war homes. In the north of the city, Walton is made up largely of dense Victorian terraced streets, so shared party walls come into almost every structural job there.

Sefton

On the coast, Crosby has Victorian, Edwardian and inter-war houses, and the ground near the shore is sandy. Formby is mostly 20th-century semis and detached homes near sand dunes and pine woodland, and Southport has Victorian villas and terraces alongside inter-war and later housing. Inland, Maghull is mainly post-war and later semis and detached homes, many of them extended. On sandy ground, leaking drains washing out fine soil are a typical line of enquiry, but only an investigation can show what is happening under a particular house.

Knowsley

Huyton has a large stock of inter-war and post-war homes, many originally built by the council. Prescot has older terraces in the town centre and inter-war and post-war semis around it, and we also cover nearby Whiston and Rainhill in the L35 district.

St Helens

St Helens has Victorian and Edwardian terraces and plenty of 20th-century semis. Parts of the borough lie on the former Lancashire Coalfield, so it is worth using the free GOV.UK service “Find out if a property is affected by coal mining” for your postcode. Mining subsidence claims are handled by the Mining Remediation Authority (formerly the Coal Authority), not by us, but we can carry out repairs to an engineer’s design once the cause is understood.

Widnes

Across the boundary in Halton, Widnes has Victorian terraces and a lot of post-war housing. Building Control there is Halton Borough Council or a registered building control approver.

Wirral

Birkenhead includes Victorian terraces and villas, including those in Oxton and Claughton, as well as post-war housing. Wallasey has Victorian and Edwardian houses and inter-war semis exposed to coastal weather. Heswall is quite different again: large detached houses with mature gardens and trees, often on plots that slope down towards the Dee, where retaining walls and garden levels can be part of the picture.

Is your town not listed?

These 20 pages are not the full list. We also work across the rest of Liverpool and the surrounding boroughs. If you are not sure whether we cover your street, call and ask; it takes a minute to check.

Does the area change what the repair looks like?

The method always comes from the engineer’s findings at your property, never from a postcode. But the area does shape the questions we ask on the first call. Terraces and semis usually mean the Party Wall etc. Act 1996 needs to be considered before any excavation near the neighbour’s foundations. Bay windows on older houses are a frequent place for cracking because their footings are often shallower than the main walls. Mature trees on clay, older drains, made ground and former clay pits, sandy coastal ground and, in parts of St Helens, past coal mining are all things the engineer may want to rule in or out. Read more about our approach to underpinning in Liverpool and Merseyside, or see the subsidence and cracks guide for what different crack patterns can mean.

Who is Building Control in my area?

Underpinning normally needs approval under the Building Regulations. Depending on where you live, that will be Liverpool City Council, Sefton Council, Knowsley Council, St Helens Borough Council, Wirral Council or Halton Borough Council, or a registered building control approver. We deal with the Building Control notices as part of the job, and the engineer and Building Control sign off the work as applicable. For what affects the price wherever you are, see our underpinning cost guide.