Field of expertise
Crack assessment
Understanding where a crack comes from, how fast it moves and whether it threatens the structure of your building.
- Independent expert
- Report you can use with your insurer, your contractor or the court
- Site visits throughout Luxembourg
The problem
A crack is always worrying, yet its appearance alone says little about how serious it is. Some very visible cracks are simply render shrinkage, while a thin, regular and growing diagonal crack may reveal a far more serious structural problem.
In Luxembourg, the variety of ground conditions — made ground, clays sensitive to shrinkage and swelling, sloping sites in the north of the country — explains a large share of the damage we see. Vibration and earthworks from neighbouring sites add to this, especially in areas undergoing densification.
Older buildings also react to alterations: opening up a load-bearing wall, converting a loft, adding a storey or creating a basement changes the way loads travel and brings previously silent weaknesses to light.
Our role is to put the crack back into its context — ground conditions, structure, history of works and weather — so that a cosmetic defect can be told apart from a genuine risk to stability.
Warning signs
- Stepped cracks in masonry: they follow the joints between blocks or bricks and often point to differential movement of the foundations.
- Openings of several millimetres: a through crack, letting light or air pass, should be examined without delay.
- Rapid change: a crack that lengthens or widens within a few weeks indicates an active phenomenon rather than settled damage.
- Associated defects: sticking doors and windows, uneven floors, cracked tiles or lifting thresholds often accompany structural movement.
- Sensitive locations: corners of openings, beam bearings, junctions between building sections and underpinned areas deserve particular attention.
Unsure about your building? Have it assessed.
Describe your situation in two minutes. We call you back and arrange the site visit.
Our assessment method
Visual inspection and survey
We walk the building inside and out, map every crack and record its path, width and orientation through photographs and measurements.
Technical analysis
We examine the load-bearing structure, accessible foundations, ground conditions, the presence of water and the history of works to build a consistent body of evidence.
Monitoring movement
Where damage appears active, crack monitors and readings spaced over time show whether movement is continuing or has stabilised.
Report and recommendations
You receive a documented report setting out the findings, the causes identified, the level of risk and the remedial measures to consider in order of priority.
In which setting
A crack assessment can be carried out amicably, at your request alone or in the presence of the other parties — for example before a purchase, at handover of a project, or as part of an insurance claim.
It can equally take place in a judicial setting. Produced by an expert sworn in by the Cour Supérieure de Justice and the Ministry of Justice, the report is a clear, reasoned technical document that can be used in discussions between parties and before the courts.
Unsure about your building?
Tell us about your situation: we will set out the most appropriate scope of work and arrange the visit as promptly as possible.
Tell us about your situation
Fill in the form and we come back with a visit date and the scope of the survey.
- Independent expert
- Report you can use with your insurer, your contractor or the court
- Site visits throughout Luxembourg