If your Widnes home is cracking, underpinning may not be needed at all. A chartered structural engineer first works out what is moving and why; if a cause such as a leaking drain or a thirsty tree can be dealt with, the cracks can usually be repaired afterwards. Where the footings really are inadequate, we build the engineer’s scheme with Halton Borough Council building control, or a registered approver, inspecting.
What do we usually ask a Widnes caller?
Our first call is mostly listening. These are the points that help us and the engineer most:
- Where the cracks are, inside and out, and whether they run diagonally, vertically or along the mortar lines.
- Roughly how wide they are and whether they have grown since you first noticed them.
- Whether internal doors or windows have started to stick, or a floor feels as if it slopes.
- The age and type of house, and whether it has a bay, a rear extension or a conservatory.
- Any large trees or shrubs near the walls, and any known drain problems.
- Whether an insurer, a buyer, a lender or a neighbour is already involved.
Then we arrange to come and look. Photographs with dates on them are very useful at this stage.
Victorian terraces and shared walls
Older parts of Widnes have rows of Victorian terraced houses. Their foundations are often shallow brick footings, and every house leans on its neighbours structurally. That has two consequences. First, a problem in one property may need looking at across two or three. Second, digging near a party wall usually brings the Party Wall etc. Act 1996 into play. A section 6 notice can apply to excavation within 3 m of a neighbour’s building where the dig goes deeper than their foundations, and a party wall surveyor handles the process. We work alongside the surveyors but do not give legal advice. Our page on underpinning next to a party wall explains the steps.
Terraces also tend to have cracking above windows and doors that is nothing to do with foundations. Decayed or missing lintels cause sagging brickwork over openings, and lintel replacement is a very different job from underpinning.
Post-war houses, extensions and gardens
Much of Widnes was built after the war, and many of those homes have since been extended. When an extension’s foundations differ from the main house, the two parts can move at different rates and a crack opens where they meet. Gardens matter too: high-water-demand trees such as oak, poplar and willow can dry out shrinkable clay soils in long dry spells. Tree work should only follow advice from an arboriculturist and the engineer, because removing a large tree on clay can cause the ground to swell. That swelling, called heave, is covered on our heave damage repair page.
Thinking of claiming? Contact your buildings insurer first. The insurer and its loss adjuster or engineer decide what investigation and repair happen. We can explain the process and carry out an agreed scheme, but we cannot say whether a claim will be accepted.
Who signs off the work in Halton?
Underpinning an existing foundation normally needs approval under the Building Regulations, according to the Planning Portal. For Widnes that means Halton Borough Council building control or a registered building control approver. We submit the notices, build to the engineer’s drawings in planned stages, and the engineer and building control inspect as the work goes on. Our main page on foundation underpinning in Liverpool and the surrounding boroughs describes the methods in more detail.
Nearby
From Widnes we regularly travel north to St Helens and north-west to Prescot.
Get some straight answers about your Widnes house
Call 07777 659786 and we will talk through what you have noticed, whether it sounds like an insurance matter and what a visit would involve. If you prefer, read about underpinning and subsidence repairs in our area first.
Frequently asked questions
Is Widnes covered even though it is in Halton?
Yes. We cover Liverpool and the Merseyside boroughs plus Widnes in Halton. The process is the same, except that Building Control is Halton Borough Council or a registered approver rather than a Merseyside council.
My terraced house has a crack over the front window. Is it the foundations?
It might be, but cracking directly above a window or door is very often caused by a failed or missing lintel rather than foundation movement. A structural engineer can tell the difference from the crack pattern and what is found when the lintel is checked.
Should I cut down the tree near my Widnes semi to stop the cracks?
Do not remove it without advice. On clay soils, felling a large tree can make the ground swell and cause heave. An arboriculturist and a structural engineer should advise first, and you should check with Halton council whether a Tree Preservation Order or conservation area applies.
How is underpinning priced if you cannot give a figure?
We price only once the engineer has designed the scheme. The main factors are the method, the depth to firm ground, the length of wall, access, party wall and Building Control involvement, any drain or tree work, and internal making good. Our cost guide covers published national figures.
Will my neighbours need to be told?
If the work involves excavation near their foundations or work to a shared wall, the Party Wall etc. Act 1996 usually needs to be considered and notice may have to be served. A party wall surveyor handles that. It is also simply good manners to talk to them early.