About this site
Why Kent Subsidence Help exists
Read how this site works and what happens when you describe a problem with your home. Sending details costs nothing and carries no obligation to accept any advice or quote that follows.
What this site is for
A crack in a wall or a door that no longer shuts properly can mean very little, or it can mean the ground beneath a home is moving. Telling the difference requires someone who understands both buildings and soil.
Kent Subsidence Help takes enquiries from people across the county who have noticed something wrong with their home. The site exists so that a single description of the problem reaches a specialist firm capable of investigating it. There is no call centre and no general contractor acting as a middleman.
Every enquiry stays focused on one thing: finding out whether the movement matters, and what should happen next if it does.
How the work is done
The firms that receive enquiries operate independently. Each one employs its own surveyors, engineers and ground workers. They visit homes, dig trial pits, take soil samples and monitor cracks over time.
Some problems need underpinning, where foundations are deepened to reach stable ground. Others are solved by injecting resin into voids left by water washing soil away. Concrete floors that have cracked or sunk might be lifted or replaced. Where a new bay window or porch needs support, screw piles are sometimes driven in rather than dug.
None of that work is carried out by this site. The role here is limited to taking the initial description and passing it to a firm that handles that specific type of ground movement in that part of Kent.
Why Kent needs its own approach
The geology of the county changes rapidly. Weald Clay shrinks and swells with the seasons, pulling at shallow foundations. Chalk dissolves underground, leaving cavities that collapse without warning. Old dene holes and chalk mines run beneath parts of North Kent. Coastal cliffs slip. Marshland compresses.
A house in Sevenoaks sits on different ground than one in Margate or Tonbridge. The cause of a crack in Gillingham might be a poplar tree drawing moisture from clay, while the same crack in Dover could point to coastal erosion working back toward the property.
Because the ground varies so much, the investigation has to match the location. General advice rarely helps. The specialist firm needs to know where the home stands before deciding what to look for.
What happens to an enquiry
When someone describes a problem through this site, the details go to a firm that deals with that kind of movement in that area. The homeowner does not need to research which technique applies or guess whether the issue involves clay, chalk or old workings.
The specialist reads the description and decides whether a visit is warranted. Sometimes they ask for photographs or measurements first. Sometimes they book a site visit straight away. Every firm sets its own process and its own charges for surveys.
Sending an enquiry does not commit anyone to hiring the firm that receives it. It starts a conversation about what the crack or movement means, and whether further investigation will cost anything upfront.
What happens after you send an enquiry
You write down what you have seen and where your home is. Everything after that depends on what the specialist firm finds when they read your description.
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the same day
Details are reviewed
The specialist firm reads your description of the crack or movement and checks whether they cover your part of Kent.
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within a week
Questions or a visit date
They either ask for more information, such as photographs, or suggest a date to look at your home in person.
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Step 3
Investigation begins
If a visit is needed, the specialist arrives to examine the walls, floors and ground outside. You just need to let them in.
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Step 4
Findings and options
Once the evidence is clear, the specialist firm sets out what is causing the movement in your home and explains what work would stop it. You receive a plain account of the problem and the fix, with no obligation to proceed.
What you receive from the specialist
Once the firm has examined your home, they record what they found and set out what needs to happen next. You get documents based on physical evidence, not assumptions.
A written assessment
A document describing the damage, the likely cause and whether the movement is still active or happened years ago.
A scope of work
Details of what the repair involves, from digging trial pits to injecting resin or installing piles.
A cost estimate
The price for the proposed work, broken down so you can see what each stage costs.
Describe what you have noticed
Write down where the crack or movement is and how long you have seen it. The details go directly to a specialist firm. Sending this does not commit you to any work or payment.
- No obligation to proceed
- No fee for sending details
- Read by a specialist firm