Hairline crack through bricks and mortar

yakyak

I am currently looking at a reposessed house, however there seems to be a problem with a crack going up the corner of the property - literally the end bricks in the wall. The hairline crack starts above the damp proof course, is about a meter long, it then stops and then continues up to near the roof. I dont want to waste money putting an offer in and then for the surveyor to tell me its subsidence.

I appears on both of the properties either side of the house we are interested in, they were built in 1990, and from what I remember the crack isnt on the inside of the property.

Could it just be that a frost has cracked the bricks, or are the foundations of the property sinking?

Any advice/previous experience on this issue would be appreciated.

iamcornholio

It's a thermal crack due to expansion/contraction of one elevation of the property.

Common and not serious

yakyak

Is this something that a surveyor would advise the mortgage company not to lend for? Would you know if a surveyor would comment or refer for specialist advice?

Have you any ideas on how it can be remedied? Can the bricks be replaced or does it just stay that?

iamcornholio

A "proper" Building Surveyor should be able to diagnose this as a minor item and not significant to prevent lending on the property

An "idiot" surveyor or valuer may want to pass the responsibility and want further investigation by a structural engineer. But again, there should be no issue regarding suitability to lend on

This type of crack may happen once and that's it, or it may widen and close seasonally. Depending on the specific cause, repair is either re-point and replace bricks and fit some steel ties, or if regular movement is likely, then the crack is made into a proper movement joint and filled with flexible mastic

yakyak

This is an actual picture of the crack. It stops just above this, then continues in the same way up to the roof. It's also on the brick behind the drain downpipe. It does also occur on the other corner of the building, however its not as bad as here.

Can anyone confirm that this is actually thermal cracking, and nothing to worry about? My fear is that it the surveyor would come back and say its subsidence...

I do quite like this property, it's just this cracking that is putting me off putting an offer in.

keystone

yakyak wrote: »

........... it's just this cracking that is putting me off putting an offer in.

No amount of "to"ing and "fro"ing on here about the nature of this crack is going to help you with this. If thats how you are thinking then just walk away from the property and find another.

Cheers

iamcornholio

yakyak wrote: »

Can anyone confirm that this is actually thermal cracking, and nothing to worry about? My fear is that it the surveyor would come back and say its subsidence...

Yes that is a thermal crack - a vertical crack of even width is caused by horizontal movement of the brick panel and is completely different to one caused by the vertical movement of foundation subsidence - which would show internally too

You should still have the property surveyed though. I can't see anyone diagnosing this as subsidence, but you still need to get an opinion on it taking into account the local conditions and construction - and a recommended repair advised

yakyak

I have had a local builder come and look at the property. He also said that it is thermal cracking. He also said that he wouldn't bother fixing it, as it isn't really a problem.

As I have mentioed, other properties in the same area have the same problem, therefore I could probably live with it.