cracks in wall of potential house am buying?

[Homeuser]

Dear All,

I'm new to this forum and came across this beautiful website when I was searching for cracks in wall of house. I'm planning to buy a house, which is going to auction next week. I've done the building survey today and he says all these cracks are cosmetic and its not a problem.

House is built in 1957/58
House was extended later may be in 1980s? to create more bedrooms

please note that these cracks are appearing only at near first floor of the house and nothing is visible near the base of the house.

rear side house inside cracks:

I've seen crack in extended bedroom below the window. also I've seen another crack in the same bedroom in the corner ceiling, which is 40cm length and crack width could be 1cm! I've not seen any cracks outside the wall. All these cracks are at the rear side of the house that too inside.

back side of house inside crack

• Homeuser
• 19 May 2012
• 1

back side of house inside crack

• Homeuser
• 19 May 2012
• 1

back side of house inside crack

• Homeuser
• 19 May 2012
• 1

front side house crack


but I've seen another hairline crack at the front side of the house but nothing inside that bedroom.

front side of house

• Homeuser
• 19 May 2012
• 1

I've attached all photographs with this question. Could you let me know whether its worth buying the house or not? Surveyor says that's not a problem in building report but I'm trying to find out why there are 2 or 3 big cracks inside the wall?

near the crack, surface sound hollow when tapped.

I've very less time to decide so your response would be appreciated.

 

[^woody^]

. I've done the building survey today and he says all these cracks are cosmetic and its not a problem.

You need to get Mr McGoo back to have a proper look.

The cracks are more than cosmetic, and how he failed to spot the front external cracking is beyond me

 

[stuart45]

The front one might be a caused by a replacement plastic window and no lintel put in the outside skin.
The crack going through the bed joint looks like the wall is dropping a fair bit. May be to do with the extension, but it's hard to say without more photos of the area.

 

[Homeuser]

Thanks for your comments. Surveyor says its not subsidence but he's unable to answer why the crack might be!

I've had another inspection today and other than this inside crack everything else looks fine.

Untitled

• Homeuser
• 20 May 2012
• 1

Untitled

• Homeuser
• 20 May 2012
• 1

should I worry about this crack or not?

Your response is much appreciated.

 

[tim00]

Who is this building surveyor who inspects and submits a report on the same saturday? Is she/he RICS?

As mentioned above, the cracking is severe, and any surveyor should indicate - no matter the significance - the cause or origin of structural faults.

Research on here.

 

[tim00]

AAMOI: you have a hat trick of crack signatures; horizontal, vertical and zig-zag.

 

[^woody^]

Surveyor says its not subsidence but he's unable to answer why the crack might be!

LOL then he is not a surveyor, and you may as well have got the ice cream man in to have a look

Every crack has a cause, and the type and location of the crack indicates what the most likely cause is.

You need to know the cause and whether the cracking is ongoing or not so as you will know if they are going to cost a lot to repair

Internal cracking to partition walls is not normally a problem, but the supporting floor needs to be looked at and commented on

The vertical cracks below the windows may not be a problem, but again, they need to be looked at in context of the surrounding wall

That front external crack may be a lintel movement or foundation movement

 

[Homeuser]

Building surveyor is from RICS and I'm yet to receive report. But verbally he said its fine. I was not confident about his response hence searched Google and found this beautiful website!

Thanks for your responses and I appreciate it.

All these cracks appear only on extension that too first floor bedroom. But the ground floor and outside wall appear to be strong and no crack is visible.


Thanks,

 

[letinman]

i bought a house like this and the surveyor said it was caused by thermal movement and not a real issue, i lived there five years and it was never a problem
i hacked back all the plaster and fixed the cracks in the clinker block and replastered and only a few small cracks reapeared here and there but only small hairline ones that filled with polyfiller
i have no idea if this is what you have but if its been checked then i personally would not be worrying excessivly , i assume the surveyor is insured

 

[Homeuser]

Thanks a lot for your reply. Yes, I was more concerned as I'm first time buyer.

 

[merlin50]

bear in mind if there is a lot wrong with a house they end up being sold for auction, also come Surveyors are not the sharpest tools in the box.

 

[Homeuser]

I agree with your comments. I did do lot of reaserch on the house and I live next road.

 

[letinman]

if the houses in the road and yours are built at the same time and by the same people and there is nothing wrong with the others then that is probably a good sign. maybe the extension has just shifted a bit, i dont agree that all houses sold at auction are dodgy

hope it all works out well for you

 

[Homeuser]

Thanks for your comments but I heard that its very difficult to buy the house at auction. They don't look at us even though we're ready to pay more and all of sudden they close!

Fingers crossed

 

[^woody^]

It's just like Bingo - put your hand up and shout