Subsidence, settlement and heave
Is a stump, together with an upward crack, any evidence on heave the stump's presence does not prove, or only a note of what was visible?
The stump does not prove heave. A stump and an upward crack were recorded, and they are not evidence that the ground has swelled. Heave is soil swelling, often after a tree that was drying clay is removed. This survey did not test the soil, did not date the felling and did not monitor the crack. The report notes the stump and the crack direction. It has not decided the mechanism at all.
Last reviewed 24 October 2026. Written for buyers in England and Wales unless this answer says otherwise. No named surveyor has signed this page. It is general guidance, not a report on your house, and not legal advice.
What is the fuller explanation?
Trees, especially on clay, take moisture and the ground shrinks. After felling, moisture can return and the clay can lift, cracking walls in a pattern that is sometimes wider upward. A stump shows a tree was there. It does not show the soil type, how thirsty the tree was, or whether the crack is heave, old subsidence recovering, or something else. No readings were taken. The pair of observations stays a pair, not a proof.
Ask the solicitor when the tree was felled and whether any arboricultural or structural advice was given at the time. A structural engineer can consider monitoring if the crack needs a cause. Tell a lender the stump and an upward crack were noted and that heave was not proved. Do not let a stump stand in for a soil test or a monitoring log. The survey did not produce either.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- Were the stump and the upward crack only noted, not monitored?
- Has heave been left unproved by the stump alone?
- Was any soil test outside this visit?
What are the typical next steps?
- Treat the stump and the crack as visible notes, not as proved heave.
- Ask the solicitor for the felling date and any earlier advice.
- Tell a lender the mechanism has not been decided.
Costs vary with the building and with who you instruct. Where this page does not cite a published figure, ask the surveyor, a relevant specialist, or your solicitor for a written quote. Do not treat a forum average as the price.
Also asked about this
Does removing the stump stop heave?
Not necessarily, and this survey has not advised tree work. Heave, if it is happening, is about moisture in the soil after the tree's demand has already changed. Grinding a stump is not a soil test and was not done here. Ask an arboriculturist and an engineer before anyone treats the stump as the repair.
Is an upward crack the opposite of subsidence?
It can be a hint, not an opposite that proves itself. Subsidence is downward movement and heave is swelling, but one crack's taper does not measure either. The stump does not prove heave. The survey took no readings. Keep both words as possibilities until monitoring or a specialist separates them.