9 Crown Row, Bracknell, Berkshire, RG12 0TH

Lettings Valuer
Liam attended school locally in Ascot and began his career in estate agency aged 18 in the Bracknell area. He has gone on to gain experience within the Maidenhead, Reading and Wokingham markets too. Building relationships is what Liam enjoys the most in his role, which gives him the opportunity to meet and help all kinds of people. Away from work, Liam enjoys playing football throughout the week and for a local Bracknell team on a Sunday (some say the next Sunday League Pirlo).
The best piece of advice I’ve ever been given is…
The way to get started is to quit talking and start doing.
Top of my bucket list is…
To travel around America and Australia.
On Sunday mornings, you can usually find me…
On a football pitch in all weathers – potentially a little jaded from the night before.
My guilty pleasures are…
Watching Super Sunday and the F1 whilst devouring a takeaway. Highly recommended.
The thing I like best about my job…
Helping and advising landlords on how to make the process of letting their property as stress-free as possible, and assuring tenants throughout the process so that it becomes an enjoyable and exciting experience.
The person I’d most like to go for a drink with is…
Sir Alex Ferguson.
20 Feb 2018
Subsidence is the movement of your home’s structural fabric. Most houses have their load bearing walls built on strips of concrete foundations. Known as strip foundations, they are poured into trenches and are laid on undisturbed subsoil. Once set, the walls and any external brick skin are laid onto the strip foundation and the trench is then backfilled. Sometimes, when ground conditions demand, reinforced concrete slabs or ‘rafts’ are laid and the house effectively ‘floats’ on this raft.
Subsidence occurs when the house and its foundations are somehow undermined. In some cases, older properties were built onto the subsoil, without any concrete foundation. Over time, ground conditions might vary, causing subsidence or ground heave to present itself. The most likely causes of subsidence include;
Cracks from subsidence can appear and spread rapidly compared to regular cracks. They usually Present both inside and outside the property and may look narrower at one end. They usually run diagonally across the wall and can be found around doors and windows.
If you suspect a home might be suffering from subsidence, consider commissioning a building survey. If your building insurance covers subsidence, consider making a claim through your insurer. However, once a property has been the subject of a claim, it’s worth noting that future insurance premiums are likely to be affected.
Subsidence and the causes of it can usually be rectified fairly easily, with underpinning being the most usual remedy. This involves laying a more substantial foundation of concrete under the affected area. This can be expensive, but in many cases your house building insurance will cover it, perhaps subject to an excess payment of say £1,000.
Where a property has previously suffered from subsidence its marketability and value may be adversely affected. Furthermore, hiding the fact from potential purchasers if they ask will almost certainly be a serious matter resulting in contractual penalties.
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