Internal Cracking

[Dale01]

A house I am looking to buy has the following cracks (see pictures) one is to the side of a lintel and the other vertical crack is just to the left of the window. They are at top of the stair case and above is a further stair case to a converted loft (approx 30 years old). I have had look outside and can see now evidence of cracking in the external brickwork. To save time and costs I was wondering if these are to be worried about? In which case I will go straight to a structural survey rather than a homebuyers and then a structural. The house is a 1960's semi-detached. My first thought is that the stair case is effectively pulling some of the wall which is causing the cracking.

 

[23vc]

It’s not caused by the stairs. The bit above the window is just a typical weak spot for the crack to appear if there’s been a bit of movement over time. The fact that the outside looks ok probably means it’s nothing to worry about.

 

[^woody^]

If you need to know about the cracks you'll need a structural survey - and that won't cover anything else that a building survey will cover.

So it's two surveys, and it don't matter which is done first.

 

[Dale01]

Thanks for the prompt responses! It doesn't look too sinister then? It is the only thing niggling about the property but I'm sure the surveys will pick it up.