Guide
Subsidence crack monitoring: why it takes a year and what it costs
Updated
Crack monitoring shows whether a building is still moving, how far, and whether the movement follows the seasons. The Financial Ombudsman Service says monitoring over 12 months is sometimes reasonable because all the seasons are covered.
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Why it is needed
The Ombudsman says an insurer will usually need a thorough investigation into the cause of subsidence damage, usually involving shallow trial holes, hand-augered boreholes, a CCTV inspection of nearby drains and crack monitoring to see whether the building is still moving and whether the movement is seasonal, which may point to tree root desiccation (financial-ombudsman.org.uk).
What it costs
| Firm | Published price | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| EMA Structures | from £1,200 | crack studs and level markers, then three seasonal visits |
| Met Surveyors | from £1,395 + VAT | crack monitoring programme, added during the initial survey |
| Icelabz | £1,500 to £2,500 | 4-week programme; 3 months £3,000 to £5,000 |
Source: Subsidence Report Fee Index: every row, with its source
The other investigations
Two follow-on investigations print a price on their firms' own pages: a CCTV drain survey at £500 (Terrain Surveys) and £834 including VAT (Sewerfix), and an arboricultural report on nearby trees at £550 (Green Canopy Consultancy) and £600 (Peter Yeates Arb).