Subsidence...how to know?

Hi
A couple of questions maybe some people here may piont me in correct direction. We have recently had some plans for some work drwn up and during the tender process a number of builders pionted out to me a large crack in the tiling in the Kitchen. Whilst on this subjected I mentionted that a few of the door frames were off in the house and on further inspection it appears some brick work on the outside is showing some cracks in the actual brick (Not the Cement). A couple of builders suggested that I contact homebond and when I did I was told they would only remedy if the builder refuses to.
I contacted the builder who sent around their site foreman. When he arrived he was very taken aback and did not spend long with me at all. Basically he said he was under the impression I was complaining about settling cracks and these were not settling cracks. He has arranged for the two main engineers on the site to visit me this week to look int the problem. I believe from discussing with some mates in the trade that the concrete slab has cracked and subsided and this may require underpinning in the house (Underpinning was also briefly mentioned by site foreman). What I basically want to know is where should I go from here and what my entitlements are?
Should I hire a structural engineer now or wait to see what the site enginnerrs have to say and then get a second opinion?
Should I get a solicitor involve?
Do I have to notify my mortgage company and insurance broker?
What am I intitled to if they have to underpin the house?

Any help would be appreciated.

I would engage your own engineer and subsidence contractor to check if there is a problem with sudsidence and have their report to hand when discussing the issue with the builders engineer. If both engineers agree about the problem and the builder agrees to rectify same - no need for a solicitor. If there is a discrepancy between both eng - discuss this with the builder and ask that he review the report. If he is not willing to resolve the problem, then go to your solicitor.

This link might help...[broken link removed]

Hi, just read your post. You must engage your own independant engineer to do a full bells and whistles survey on your property. The subsidence may be benign or it may be due to a fault with your foundations and if that is the case rectifying it is the responsibility of the building contractor. If you have a problem when the survey is complete you should then approach the builder to fix it under the supervision of your engineer. It is important to note that after six years of the property being signed off over to you the builder's liability ceases (under the statute of limitations act in Irish law) this means you are liable for any costs, so move quickly and get a solicitor involved if you have to.
Subsidence is a serious issue with implications for your services ie gas pipes if you have them and waste pipes, these can become stressed if the subsidence is severe enough and cause leakages! It will also scare away potential buyers who will run a mile if tell-tale cracks are pointed out to them.
I had a subsidence issue with my last house and missed all the signs as I was blind to them and totally green, when we went to sell it the sale fell through and I still own the house today.

Hi TheBlock!
You got good advice from the two previous posters. My little advice is to call to the ESB supply as well as to Board Gais (and if relevant to the gas tank owner) and to the local water works.
Reason: any demage that comes from your land/site will be in your responsibility. The real culprits would have to be traced down by you, but for your neighbours it's you who they talk to.
So contact these bodys, tell them the situation and most likely they'll send someone out to do a report.
Underpinning is very costly, so don't rely on homebond to be sufficient for cover.The job itself might be done for relativly little, but getting a guarantee on it and getting done all the side jobs (see above) could be an adventure in itself.

Thanks for the advice guys. The builders engineers are arriving this evening at 5.00 so at least I have a few more queries to throw at them re services. I will be engaging an engineer to have "The full bells and whistles test" but will wait to hear what the builders enginners have to say first and wait for a copy of their report.

I won't be doing anything regarding a solicitor until absolutley nessacary as this seems to be the consensus.

Where would I stand on getting the relatively little things fixed by the builders?
Doors and Skirtings, Coving, New Tiling and replacement flooring and also painting? Anyone have any idea if the builder would cover this or would I have to use my house Insurance?

A cover-up of the damage would make any report costly. No wonder they want to come around so quickly. Get your independent survey done BEFORE the repairs are started. Think about x-raying a leg already in plaster, it would be useless (the x-ray photo!)