On 19 May 2006 12:55:36 +0200,it is alleged that Chris Bacon
spake thusly in uk.d-i-y:

Christian McArdle wrote:
CPB wrote, but the attributions were munged yet again:
I wonder how many buildings have been destroyed due to defects
rather than to make way for something else, as a fraction of
the whole? Anyone any ideas?

I'd guess quite few, really. But plenty have either been underpinned or
shifted to what would now be considered an unacceptable degree.

How many do you guess have been destroyed due to
defects? 10%? 20%? 50%? This is interesting. I
wonder whether NT will say anything... there
must be some information "out there" somewhere...

I would suspect insurance companies may be a good source. It does
depend on the area though, in this area (Southampton, flood plain,
clay soil), subsidance is a real problem and has caused several houses
to my personal knowledge to require demolition on safety grounds.

This usually happens after someone plants something that sucks the
water out (as in the example elsewhere in this thread of a 70s
extension and a willow tree). This can affect houses no matter what
the age though, if they're not on decent foundations.

--
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there's no law against whacking them around a bit."
- Eric Porterfield.