1700s House Cracks

pjshots

Hi,

I live in a wonderful old 1700s house. It has the wooden beams, floors, etc. All good fun.

Being a tenant, this is my first year in the house. When we moved in there were some small cracks in various places. This did somewhat worry me, but I thought since the house was standing for this long that it was probably nothing.

Now, I think otherwise. The house is a T shape, living room and dining room in the I and kitchen (bathroom above) in the - . Both the bathroom and kitchen have cracks in the ceiling and the hall way along the - has a largish crack in it also. The bricks behind also look cracked too.

I've included some pictures for you to look at. What I'd like to know is the house being so old, is it something to worry about? We are aware that the outside wall has moved a long time ago at some point, years ago as there was evidence of it the right side of the I above. This cracking is happening on the left of the I part of the house. Any ideas?

Thanks.

How can I put images on here if I can't post links......?

securityman

If it has had a new refurbishment it might be the new plaster.
If it has a new extension it might be settling.

iamcornholio

I would expect most houses from the 1700's to have a few cracks in them, and these to fluctuate over the seasons.

They would only become a problem if they keep getting wider and you can get your finger in them

Anyway, they are the landlords responsibility to deal with if structural. Otherwise, plaster cracks are for the tenant to sort out

PasturesNew

Sometimes the sticking out bits weren't part of the original build - and weren't tied to the original house when they were extended - and the two separate.

27col

I would be surprised if a 1700 house did not have cracks. The foundations in these old structures are usually absolutely minimal. Quite often just a row of large stones laid on or very near the surface of the ground.