Structural Engineer Reports
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FAQ

Structural inspection, crack and underpinning FAQs

Short, direct answers from independent structural engineers, grouped by topic. Most link to the service or engineer's guide that covers it in depth. Can't see your question? Call 07 2150 0579 and an engineer will talk it through.

Quick answers

Inspection fee
From $450 + GST for a typical house
Quote review
From $390 + GST, from documents and photos
Quote time
Within 1–2 business hours
Time on site
One to three hours for a typical house
Signed by
A structural engineer (Engineers Australia · RPEQ)
Independence
We never sell or carry out repairs

Key takeaways

  • A crack 5 mm or wider, or one that keeps growing, needs an engineer.
  • Find the cause before anyone quotes a repair: the cause decides the fix.
  • Underpinning usually needs a building permit or approval and an engineer's design.
  • Many home policies exclude gradual subsidence, so check your PDS.
  • Buying? Tell us your cooling-off deadline before you book.
Close-up of a thin crack in a pale plaster wall with a small red marker sticker at its tip
A marker at the tip of a crack records where it ended on the inspection date, so any later growth is easy to see.

Not sure where to start?

Our service decision guide takes seven quick questions. Or choose "Not sure, please advise" on the quote form and an engineer will recommend the right service.

Inspections and reports

What a structural inspection covers, what's in the report and how it differs from a building inspection.

House structural inspections

What is a structural inspection?
A structural engineer inspects the parts of a building that carry its weight, such as footings, walls, floors and roof framing, to find out what is moving, why, and whether it matters. You receive a written engineer's report. See house structural inspections.
What's in a structural engineer's report?
The concern and scope, measured observations of cracks, doors, windows, floors, drainage, trees and site conditions, crack ratings against AS 2870, and the likely cause, severity and recommendations. It also includes photos, the engineer's signature and the limits of the inspection, as in our foundation and crack report.
How long does a structural inspection take?
One to three hours on site for a typical house, depending on its size and what needs checking. We confirm the report delivery date in your quote.
Is a structural engineer the same as a building inspector?
No. A building inspector reports on a property's general condition, often for a sale, while a structural engineer assesses cracks and movement, finds the likely cause and can design and certify a repair. If a building inspection flags structural concerns, a pre-purchase structural inspection is the next step.
Do you inspect units, townhouses and strata buildings?
Yes. We prepare building defect reports, foundation and crack reports and crack monitoring for units, townhouses and strata common property. The scope and fee are set in a fixed quote.

Cracks and movement

When a crack matters, what moves Australian houses and how to tell whether movement is still active.

Read: cracks in walls, when to worry

When should I worry about a crack in a wall?
When it's 5 mm or wider, keeps growing, steps through brickwork, is wider at one end, or appears with sticking doors or sloping floors. Read cracks in walls: when to worry.
What are the AS 2870 damage categories?
AS 2870-2011 rates wall cracking from Category 0 (negligible, under 0.1 mm) to Category 5 (very severe, over 25 mm), with Category 3 (moderate) starting at 5 mm. Width is only a guide: the pattern, location and growth of cracks matter too.
What makes houses on reactive clay crack?
Reactive clay shrinks as it dries and swells when wet, so footings move with the seasons. Trees, leaking pipes, downpipes and poor drainage make that movement uneven, and uneven movement cracks walls. Read reactive clay and slab heave.
How can I tell if my house is subsiding?
Common signs are stepped or tapered cracks, doors that start sticking and floors that slope towards one part of the house. Settlement happens when soil under a footing compresses or softens, often from poorly compacted fill, leaks or drainage. Read house subsidence and movement.
How do I know if a crack is still moving?
By measuring it more than once. Tell-tale gauges or measured points across the crack are read at set intervals and compared with the first reading, showing stable, seasonal or progressive movement. See crack monitoring.
  1. Cat 0Negligible< 0.1 mm
  2. Cat 1Very slight< 1 mm
  3. Cat 2Slight< 5 mm
  4. Cat 3Moderate5–15 mm
  5. Cat 4Severe15–25 mm
  6. Cat 5Very severe> 25 mm
Figure 1Damage categories for walls, with approximate crack widths. Crack width is a guide only: the number, pattern and location of cracks also matter.Source: AS 2870-2011 Residential slabs and footings, Appendix C, Table C1.

Underpinning

What underpinning is, when it needs an engineer, what it costs and how to check a quote. We design and certify underpinning; we never sell or install it.

Underpinning design and certification

What is underpinning?
Underpinning strengthens or deepens the footings of a house, or improves the soil under them, so the building is better supported. Common methods include mass concrete, concrete piers, screw piles and resin injection. Read what is underpinning?
Do I need an engineer for underpinning?
Usually, yes. Underpinning is structural work that generally needs a building permit or approval with an engineer's design, and your building surveyor or certifier will confirm what applies. Read do I need an engineer for underpinning?
How much does underpinning cost?
Published guides put a typical house at about $10,000–$15,000 (hipages) and common residential jobs at $4,000–$15,000 (Remedial Building Help), checked October 2026. Only a site-specific quote gives a real price. Read underpinning cost.
Which underpinning method is best?
None suits every house. Mass concrete, piers, screw piles and resin injection each suit different soils and causes, so the cause has to be diagnosed first. Read underpinning methods compared.
Can you check an underpinning quote before I sign?
Yes. Our underpinning quote review checks whether the cause has been identified, whether the scope and method make sense and what the quote leaves out, from $390 + GST.
What's the difference between underpinning and restumping?
Restumping replaces the stumps of a raised, timber-floored house. Underpinning strengthens or deepens the footings of slab or strip-footing houses, which are often masonry. Read underpinning vs restumping.
Do you design and certify underpinning?
Yes. We inspect, diagnose the cause, design the underpinning, prepare documents for the building permit or approval, inspect the critical stages and certify the work, and any licensed contractor can build it. See underpinning design and certification.

Three common underpinning methods, side by side

Mass concrete underpinning, screw piles and resin injection compared Three simplified sections of a wall on a strip footing. In the first, a concrete block is cast under the footing down to firmer ground. In the second, a steel screw pile beside the footing reaches firmer ground and is connected to the footing with a bracket. In the third, resin is injected through small tubes into the soil under the footing. firmer ground firmer ground firmer ground 1 · Mass concrete 2 · Screw pile 3 · Resin injection
  • 1 · Mass concrete: concrete is cast in short sections under the footing, down to firmer ground.
  • 2 · Screw piles or piers: steel piles are driven or screwed to a firmer layer and tied to the footing with brackets or a new beam.
  • 3 · Resin injection: expanding resin is injected into the soil under the footing to fill voids, densify it and sometimes lift the footing.
Figure 2Simplified sections, not to scale. The right method depends on the soil, the cause of movement and the building, so the diagnosis has to come first. We design and certify; we don't sell any method.Illustrative diagram. Prepared by Structural Engineer Reports.

Fees and booking

What our services cost, how quickly you'll get a quote and what to send with your request.

See all fees

How much does a structural engineer inspection cost?
On-site inspections with a written report start from $450 + GST for a typical house, and underpinning quote reviews from $390 + GST. Design and certification, defect reports, crack monitoring and contractor engineering are fixed-quoted per job. See structural engineer fees.
How quickly will I get a quote?
Within 1–2 business hours, Monday to Friday, 8am to 5pm. The quote fixes the fee and the inspection date and confirms when you'll receive the report. Request a fixed quote.
What should I send with a quote request?
The address, what you're seeing and when it started, photos of the cracks, any contractor quotes or earlier reports, and any deadline such as a cooling-off period. You can attach files to the quote form.
Which areas do you cover?
Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide and Geelong, plus the Gold Coast, Newcastle, Perth and the Central Coast. Send the address and we'll confirm it in your quote, or see all service areas.

Buying a house

Cracks, movement and cooling-off periods when you're buying a property.

Pre-purchase structural inspections

Should I get a structural engineer before buying a house?
Yes, if you or your building inspector have seen cracks, sloping floors, sticking doors or signs of past repairs. A pre-purchase structural inspection tells you what's moving and how serious it is before you commit.
Can you inspect within my cooling-off period?
Tell us your deadline when you request a quote and we'll confirm whether we can meet it before you book. Cooling-off periods are short, so get in touch as early as you can.
How long is the cooling-off period in each state?
Generally 5 business days in NSW, Queensland and the ACT, 4 in the NT, 3 in Victoria and 2 clear business days in South Australia. WA and Tasmania have no general statutory cooling-off, so buyers rely on contract conditions such as a building inspection clause. These are general rules with exceptions, such as auctions, so check your contract.
Should I buy a house with foundation problems?
That depends on the cause, how serious it is and what a repair might involve, which is what an engineer's inspection tells you. The decision is yours and your advisers'; we provide the engineering facts. Read buying a house with foundation problems.

Insurance and disputes

Insurance cover for subsidence, engineer's reports as evidence, and what we can and can't advise on. General information only, not insurance or legal advice.

Building defect reports

Does home insurance cover subsidence and cracking?
Many policies exclude damage from gradual subsidence, settlement, shrinkage or earth movement, but cover damage caused directly by an insured event such as a burst pipe, storm or flood. Wording differs, so check your PDS and read does home insurance cover subsidence?
Will an engineer's report help my insurance claim?
A foundation and crack report can help show the likely cause of the damage, which is what your insurer assesses against your policy. We report the engineering facts; we can't predict or promise how an insurer will decide.
Can you write a report for a building dispute?
Yes. A building defect report records the defects, their likely cause and what's needed to put them right, independently of any builder or repairer.
Do you give legal advice?
No. We provide engineering evidence and opinion; for legal questions about a dispute, claim or contract, speak to a lawyer.

Before anyone quotes a repair

Find the cause before anyone quotes a repair.

Tell us what you're seeing and where. You'll have a fixed quote within 1–2 business hours, and an independent engineer's report you can act on with confidence.

Get a fixed quote Call 07 2150 0579

Inspections from $450 + GST · No obligation

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