External wall vertical crack below sill

[DIYMINT]

Hi,

I am considering purchasing a mid terrace house in Greater London.

There is an apparent vertical crack running from the air vent to the window sill (but not through it). The crack has been patched up poorly. The floor brick work outside appears also to be buckled/tent-up.

To note there is a manhole cover in the front garden which may be causing an issue, I know they used to backfill these holes poorly when originally dug.

There is no other sign of cracking inside or outside of the property and I am wanting to understand how serious the crack is and potential implications.

Thanks in advance for any thoughts/advice.

 

[RandomGrinch]

I am wanting to understand how serious the crack is and potential implications.

I'm afraid I can't say how serious the crack is, but I think I can say (although I could be wrong), something odd has been going on below the bay.

After a superficial look at the images, the brick sizes don't quite appear to match up each side of the crack - this isn't something that the Victorians would usually do on a principle facade!

But on closer inspection, the black lines aren't the mortar lines between the bricks. They appear to have been applied on and painted afterwards, to tidy up the appearance - in some places, they don't even match up with the mortar lines!

Not necessarily bad, but very strange

 

[ree]

OP,
Given that you are paying out for a house in London - then forget about the crack & get on with the purchase
Wait for the mortgage surveyor's report but from what I can see & what you say then the crack is a nothing.

 

[^woody^]

Looks like some historic and insignificant cracking which has been made to look worse than it should be by that crap repair effort.