Cleaning & Building Maintenance
120 110 100 90 80 70 60
2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 Annual Rainfall as % of Average Comment:
Richard Hinton Business Development Director, SearchFlow
Heavy rainfall and ground saturation leads to swelling in the soil, particularly in areas with high levels of clay. If this is followed by a very dry spell the soil dries, shrinks and can crack. This can be a big problem for properties built on this type of soil. We’ve had a particularly wet couple of years, with 2012 the second wettest on record. If the UK has a very dry summer this year it will certainly lead to a surge in subsidence issues for property owners.
Clay soil is prevalent in the North, London and the South East and properties in these areas are particularly susceptible to subsidence issues. If we have another year of heavy rain, the issue will simply be kicked further down the road. Further swelling of clay soils will lead to more acute shrinkage if 2014 is a dry year. Damage from subsidence costs UK homeowners more each year than flooding so owners and buyers need to be aware of the risks their properties face from the outset. Otherwise they could be sitting on a ticking time-bomb.
Average Rainfall (1981 to 2000)
31
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66
