THE developer blamed for the cracks in the homes in Taman Seri Timah, Balakong, claims the problem existed even before work at its site nearby began.

The developer, Sunrise Berhad, said these were old cracks based on evidence contained in the four-volume Independent Dilapidation Survey reports carried out by Specialist Contractor Test Sdn Bhd between March and April last year. The checks were carried out on 103 homes.

Its chief operating officer, Lum Tuck Ming, said the survey could not be conducted in all the affected homes because 10 houseowners refused.

The survey was required as it called for project engineers to visit every house to snap pictures of existing cracks, said LKS Architect Associates principal Lim Kim Seng, property development consultants for the project.

''The cracks have not widened any further as claimed by the residents for Sunrise has installed rulers placed horizontally and vertically outside one of the homes to monitor the situation. No movement has been recorded for the past three months,'' said Gue & Partners Sdn Bhd associate director Tan Yean Chin, geo-technical consultants for the project.

Lum pointing out the first phase of the company's development project in Balakong.

They were commenting on a report in Star Metro recently where Taman Seri Timah residents complained on the soil strengthening technique used by Sunrise and the short distance between their homes and the slope supporting the retaining wall.

The residents had said during a press conference headed by Balakong assemblyman Datuk Hoh Hee Lee that the problem was made worse as the soil was already loose.

Lim said the distance between the homes and the slope was shortened because of the extensions, with some going beyond the boundary and intruding into the Sunrise development site although the buffer zone stipulated by the local council is six metres.

The legality of the structures, he added, was also questionable.

Sunrise further explained that the soil strengthening technique used was not cement grouting as claimed by residents but soil nail wall, an established and proven technique used extensively in Malaysia and Hong Kong to stabilise loose soil slopes.

The method was used by Sunrise in numerous projects, including Country Heights Damansara.

The project in Balakong is at a standstill at the moment because residents are calling for a review of the slope-strengthening method.

According to Lum, a number of meetings have been held with the residents but no understanding has been reached yet, forcing the company to consider other options.

''One option is to build an engineered compacted slope but plans have to be resubmitted to authorities. We estimate this will set back the project by a year,'' said Tan.