Could this be subsidence

Carrera74

Hello all

Hubby has just started redecorating one of the bedrooms and has found a huge crack starting half way the interior wall going up to the ceiling and over about half way. The crack in the wall is thick enough that it has ripped the wallpaper. On further inspection it has gone into the room next door too and along the wall in the cupboard which is usually hidden from view.

We had noticed some cracking downstairs on the ceiling that joins the kitchen to the dining room but put this down to the plaster just splitting as it wasn't very noticeable. We had our back windows replaced last Summer and the crack seems to go a bit more obvious but just assumed it was the weight from the builders on the flat roof.

Anyway we've now gone round the house and have found a few more cracks :S

We live in a mid terrace house which was built in the early 1900s. We've never had any structural problems before.

I am going to ring the insurers tomorrow to see what we need to do but in the mean time I have been looking on Google and scaring myself silly with the possible costs involved in this.

Are there obvious places where subsidence shows? Or does subsidence look a certain way? Hope someone can put my mind at ease.

Decay_2

Sounds like it could be. Any cracking on the outside walls ?

I have noticed alot of houses not too far from me with subsidence, nearly all of them have bay windows ( perhaps it's just easier to notice with bay windows)
When you look at the front of the house can you notice any dipping ?

Although it could be a number of things so I wouldn't worry to much yet. I'd get a builder out to check first.

C_Mababejive

Dont worry,,your neighbours either side will hold you up..

lovethymini

A couple of questions come to mind;-

Are your neighbours carrying out any structural changes to their houses?
Are your drains okay?

It may not necessarily cost you a fortune to make good; you just really need to establish the cause.

A typical victorian age house was not built on as substantial a foundation as more modern properties. Likewise, (re Decay's post) the bay windows were sometimes not adequately supported either, causing cracks at the point that they joined the house.

I lived in a 1930's upstairs maisonette a few years ago, which had a good sized crack on an interior wall; by looking at the decoration (it had split the wallpaper, like yours) I established that it had already been there a while, and it didn't get bigger. When I decorated, it didn't reappear.

Fingers crossed it's not too big a job to put right for you.

nickj_2

is your house built on clay , as it dries out the clay shrinks ,as we have had unusually dryish weather for months this can cause sdubsidence especially if you have trees sucking water out of the ground around your house

Leif

It could be subsidence, or it could be settlement which is common. You often get slight movement, causing some cracks to form. Settlement is just the building relaxing a bit, perhaps the ground is becoming drier or more damp due to nearby trees. It is nothing to worry about. Subsidence is far more worrying.

How large are these cracks? And how deep are they? If it is settlement, then the chances are that the cracks are in the plaster only, not the brickwork. You mentioned cracking ceilings, that is common. I had a new ceiling in my living room, and after a few months cracks appeared. I have cracks in the old ceiling in the hall. Movement of joists causes ceiling cracks.

tigeress289

This drought is causing more problems than just a water shortage. The water table drops and the ground dries out. Of course there will be movement and in some places more serious than others depending on the soil. I think this is common at the moment. Just keep a check on it.

robv_3

Without looking at it, its extremely hard to tell. How big are the gaps? 10mm/20mm/50mm? Goes the crack run from the floor to the celling?

As a 'bedroom' assuming its upstairs. Does this wall go all the way down to the ground floor into the cellar/area below the floor?

The house has been standing for over 100 years. Unless something has changes IMHO its unlikely to be an issue.

cattie

You mention being scared of costs involved if it is a structural problem. Well as long as you have buildings insurance then you don't need to worry too much on that score. Most buildings insurance policies have an excess of £1k, meaning you'd have to pay out for the first £1k of work needed to remedy the problem, but the policy would cover the rest.

Fingers crossed it's just a bit of movement because of the lack of moisture in the soil.

Gloomendoom

cattie wrote: »

You mention being scared of costs involved if it is a structural problem. Well as long as you have buildings insurance then you don't need to worry too much on that score. Most buildings insurance policies have an excess of £1k, meaning you'd have to pay out for the first £1k of work needed to remedy the problem, but the policy would cover the rest.

That is true but you need to be aware that you will find it more difficult to get buildings insurance at a competitive rate once you have the dreaded word "subsidence" on your file. Your existing insurer will most probably continue to insure you but others won't want to touch you with a barge pole.

My house developed a few cracks and my ex-wife panicked and called our insurers who started a subsidence investigation. They quickly found a collapsed drain which was repaired but eventually decided that the cracks were, in fact, due to seasonal movement (very old house with no foundations built on clay) and didn't warrant any remedial action apart from periodic redecoration. Never-the-less, our premium tripled and I have not been able to switch insurers since.

Carrera74

Leif wrote: »

How large are these cracks? And how deep are they? If it is settlement, then the chances are that the cracks are in the plaster only, not the brickwork. You mentioned cracking ceilings, that is common. I had a new ceiling in my living room, and after a few months cracks appeared. I have cracks in the old ceiling in the hall. Movement of joists causes ceiling cracks.

They are quite long cracks but they only appear on the upper of the wall but they spread up to the ceiling in one room and through to the room adjacent to the crack on the wall. They aren't really thick, possibly 2 - 3mm thick but because they have ripped the paper I'm fearing the worse. We had a serious house fire 7 years ago so all the ceilings were replastered downstairs and we noticed the join between the extension and the house cracked so just assumed this was normal drying out as it didn't get any worse until the last month or so but it has now spread the length of the back room.

I'm not sure what the house is built on - how do you find out? The reports I had done when I bought the house 10 years ago were destroyed in the fire.

We don't have any trees nearby, my neighbours don't seem to be doing any work and it rains here in the NW all the time so I don't think the ground is dry even with the drought that is happening. This side of the penines seem to get the country's share of rain :S

The only thing that is different is that we have had all the rear windows replaced. The back windows double glazing had failed so the back rooms were always quite damp. The windows were usually full of condensation. Could something like this make the walls crack? Or am I wishful thinking!

Thanks everyone for your input