* It is not without good reason that Belgian Law includes a 10-year liability for architects and contractors .
Art. 1792. Of the Civil Code;
If a building is erected for a fixed price, suffers defects either entirely or in part, even if this is caused by unsuitable ground, the architect and contractor bear liability for this for a period of 10 years.
* Fissures and cracks are not always a sign that there is a problem with the stability of the building. Different architectural phenomena may also result in fissures;
- the hygrothermic reactions of different materials
- dilatation through the absorption of humidity
- shrinkage cracks due to the hardening of products bound by cement
- shrinkage cracks from just drying out, etc. …
* And yet cracks, especially when wider than 2 to 3 millimetres, are often caused by stability problems;
- differential subsidence
- insufficient load capacity of the ground
- accidental disruption of the ground under the foundations
- vibrations from machines or traffic in the vicinity
- building works on neighbouring plots
- excavations next to foundations
- injudicious execution of underpinning, etc. ...
When cracks appear you don’t need to worry that your building is going to suffer subsidence or fall down. Professional research by ARCON will identify the causes of the cracks and recommend action to remedy the problem.