“The sinking down of land resulting from natural shifts or human activity, frequently causing structural damage to buildings.”

When a building is sitting on ground that is not completely stable, or has been built with foundations that are no longer able to distribute the buildings weight adequately, then more often than not, cracks due to subsidence will follow. As a result of this, some old buildings can suffer quite drastically.

Having said that, an old building's apparent weakness can sometimes be its saving grace. Traditional lime mortar is very soft when compared to today’s cement mortar, and this often works in the building's favour, making the structure far more elastic than its modern counterpart.

By the Victorian era many of the internal finishes lent themselves to accommodating considerable amounts of movement, with large cornices, wallpaper and generously proportioned skirtings and architraves finished in dark stain or dark paint. If one of today’s modern brick veneer homes was subject to the movement that these buildings have endured, it is cetain that they wouldn’t have lasted nearly so long.

However, sometimes the movement that has taken place is outside the boundaries of acceptability or safety, and professional help needs to be sought.

What to do..?

More often than not, the wisest course of action is to engage a good structural engineer who specializes in heritage work and who has an understanding of some of the nuances of historic buildings. At this point the different options can be examined and a way forward determined.