Large holes, collapsing house?

[SundayAfternoon]

I'm renting in Chiang Mai and love my house, but have been slightly disconcerted recently and am wondering if I should be worried enough to move.

The first thing I noticed were holes appearing in the soil around the back of the house at the base - where the house meets the soil, basically. When I pointed these out to my landlord he kindly filled then in with some sand. However with all the rain washing it away the holes have reappeared. I've noticed that if I empty a bucket of water or run the hosepipe into the hole the water disappears instantly. I've no idea where the water is going.

The other thing that's happened is large cracks running the entire width of the house from one side to the other, basically leaving the laundry room extension separated from the house by a 1 inch crack. It runs up and over, along the ceiling and over the door frame, then down again and along the floor (cracked floor tiles) to the perimeter wall (which is also showing long horizontal cracks).

So, different theories are running through my head - from shonky building techniques in a fairly new house, to termites and stink holes. I hope it's not dangerous but who knows... the next earthquake could hit and...

Should a move be on the cards?

[I Like Thai]

Move before the house falls down and the landlord wants you to pay to have it rebuilt.

[David48]

How old is the house?

Any recent renovations at the house or neighbours houses?

Any recent road works or water pipes burst?

What you describe is worrying, and from the sounds of it ... the foundations are sinking ... though hard to tell from a verbal description.

For me, given your description, a move would be definitely on the cards.

.

[cardholder]

How old is the house?

Any recent renovations at the house or neighbours houses?

Any recent road works or water pipes burst?

What you describe is worrying, and from the sounds of it ... the foundations are sinking ... though hard to tell from a verbal description.

For me, given your description, a move would be definitely on the cards.

.

Take lots of photos.

[Beetlejuice]

Sounds like subsidence to me. Probably the house was not built on solid ground.

it is possible that there is a stream running under the house, which expands during the rainy season. Quite common in Thailand.

If it were me, I would be searching for new accommodation elsewhere, but whatever you decide to do, is at your own risk and discretion..

[anon210]

Sounds like subsidence to me. Probably the  house was not built on solid ground.

 

it is possible that there is a stream running under the house, which expands during the rainy season. Quite common in Thailand.

 

If it were me, I would be searching for new accommodation elsewhere, but whatever you decide to do, is at your own risk and discretion.. 

Is the house built on limestone terrain?

If yes, a sinkhole could definitely be in the works.

[Thanyaburi Mac]

See this pretty often down here on the Bangkok Plain. Just a case of inadequate pilings holding up the posts of the house. No easy solution, so if renting, move.

Have also seen where the pilings are good, the house stays where it's supposed to be, but the ground subsides leaving a gap between the floor and the dirt. Easy solution, toss in more dirt to fill the gap.

Bangkok area is built on something like 700 feet or mud.

Mac

[SundayAfternoon]

The house is built on rice paddy land, as far as I know. And yes, I did have a pipe burst a few months ago and a lot of water escaped! But the holes were visible before that happened. The cracks came after.

So, can subsidance cause a house to fall down, or collapse in part, or is it just a case of the dirt underneath it moving?

[meatboy]

more than likely the footings and the hardcore or the lack of it[plenty of mud] used to build up,we had the same problem at our boundry wall a water waste pipe was leaking and washed every bit of footings away and i fell into a 4ftx4ft hole.the earth,soil,or whatever you want to call it just disapeared under the wall.a builder blocked it all up and put a couple tons of chippings in no problem this yr.but the other problem that is something else big movement.

[SOTIRIOS]

Move before the house falls down and the landlord wants you to pay to have it rebuilt.

......maybe that was the idea all along...

[masuk]

Depends if the author really meant a 'stink hole', but worse still, if it's a sink hole, pack your bags.

There have been some scary photos recently of houses complete with occupants dropping into the deep.

[GirlDrinkDrunk]

it may just be that the laundry room "extension" has poor foundation or worse was simply built on a pad and is sinking on its own

[Morakot]

Subsidence is quite common in many places in Thailand. If your house has an adequate column foundation structure, than there shouldn't be any problem.

All you need is to ensure that the subsidence is not caused by some sudden event such as changes in water levels or vibration, and then have the holes refilled with soil.

Edited August 16, 2013 by Morakot

[cmsally]

How many years since the house was built?

From what I've seen they fill in the rice fields and build, without leaving enough time to settle and compact in a lot of cases.

[pgrahmm]

There's a house down the road from us (for rent)that has about a 4-5 foot deep hole underneath running along about 6-8 feet of the slab - went and got a flashlight and shined it in and it was about 20 feet under the slab......went and spoke to the neighbor & he said he had a similar problem and two rooms of his house could't be used in the rainy season due to mold infiltration/water pooling under the house....he also indicated the house that I had looked at was always plagued by snakes showing up indoors (imagine they just loved that cool "basement") - glad I didn't stick my head in there for a closer look.....

Walking by one day a LARGE Monitor lizard rumbled across the street I watched it disappear at that house (high walled yard).

Poor build or possibly a pressured water pipe leak could also cause this.....if it's a large area about the only thing to do is open the floor and fill the cavern with cement fixing any leaks and/or running the feed pipes overhead (they tend to be cheap charlies in the piping they use/choose when building) ..... if I were you I'd look for another house....

[LivinLOS]

Exactly the same thing happening to my rented house on a moo ban in chiang Mai.. The ground under the house wasn't compacted and left to settle after filling in rice land.. The house foundations are shifting and the structural beams have cracked. The developer tried to hide the issue with sand but that's not a fix.

My landlord is heading to court to sue the developer.

Your not on karnkanok 1 by any chance are you ??

[Robby nz]

Look around as you travel and you will see it everywhere.

Someone buys paddy to build on and fills it with soil, in flood prone areas they will build it up above the flood level.

At times they will build a wall around the area and then fill, the walls I have seen never have ant tie-backs to prevent them being pushed out by the weight of the fill, so they are, over time pushed out.

They then proceed to build on the fill with no compaction at all.

Even if the piles of the building are taken down into the paddy below the fill that is no guarantee the building wont start to subside for the paddy is after all only soft mud.

There are a couple of big areas close to where we stay that have been filled some years back and have not been built on.

There are sink holes and cracks showing on both without the weight of buildings.

Start looking for another place to rent for it can only get worse.

And let this be a warning to anyone who is thinking of buying a house on filled land.

[Dap]

See all previous posts and prepare to move at your earliest convenience, really

[ozyjon]

I often think about this,, when we had a bore hole put in our land the guys doing the job were exceptional, very professional and hones with their work, one thing bothered me though, he said that if we have any problems in the future or the hole goes dry they will come and drill a new one for free,,, that's great but the thought in my mind is,, that there will be a big hole somewhere in the back yard that might collapse one day,, sinkhole comes to mind and it's a scare thought... MOVE before you are made to pay for the repairs or a new house,,, a victory for the power of renting,, we can move !!!

[delh]

See all previous posts and prepare to move at your earliest convenience, really

Dap is right. Really, the sooner the better. Yesterday if possible.

[kannot]

The clue here is the burst pipe, the house has moved so much it probably ripped it apart, and inch crack is way too big, get out is my advice.

The Thai way will be to put filler in the crack and assure you its fine.

[seajae]

everyone is pretty spot on, I watched them empty a water hole at least 4 metres deep leaving a metre of water in the bottom then backfill it and start to prepare to build a week later. If you walked out on it you would sink but it doesnt seem to bother them, I would be moving very quickly before you become another statistic. The foundations are sinking(broken pipe) and I wouldnt be surprised if there are more not far from breaking, wall cracks are stress points where the slab/s is sinking at different rates(walls starting to lean) and will only get worse. I definitely wouldnt be sleeping in there or have anything of value inside, get out while you can without any difficulty, too late when the doors will no longer open or you need a crane to get your things out.

Edited August 16, 2013 by seajae

[NeverSure]

I'm happy for you that you are renting and not buying. Get out is my opinion, for what it's worth.

[benalibina]

Lets hope for the OP though that he recently not paid 6 months rent in advance to cut a cheaper deal.

[BillyBobThai]

It is not beyond belief for him to want you to fix it, as you are the one renting the house.

Ten years ago I was renting a house in Pattaya when the A/C compressor gave out. The landlord wanted me to pay for havinh it fixed. She said the I used the A/C too much. I moved as you should now be packing.

[rotary]

Move as soon as possible and forget about it