Could this be subsidence

Carrera74

Gloomendoom wrote: »

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.

This is what has put me off ringing the Insurers! :eek:

Leif

Carrera74 wrote: »

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

With cracks that small it could be plaster drying out, and it taking time to break the wallpaper. I have some cracks like that in my kitchen, some are quite obvious, others are solved with a bit of paint.

When I redecorated my house I found loads of cracks in plaster, often quite serious, and one large crack beneath a window. They were all on walls with a window, usually at the ceiling, and at the side of the window recess. I now reckon that they occurred when new windows were put in, about 20 years go, and the original owners decided not to remedy them, but to paper over. So there could be many causes of your cracks, not just subsidence which I would have thought would create deep cracks. From what you say the cracks are not visible on the outside of your house, or if internal, on the opposite side(s) of the wall(s), consistent with plaster cracks. If you feel brave, scrape away plaster, and find out how deep a crack goes, and if it is structural. Don't worry too much about a hole, a filler such as Easi-fill plus sandpaper will work wonders, and some paint too.

Decay_2

Carrera74 wrote: »

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

The houses around here the same age as yours are built on an inch or two of coal slag ( waste) but are at least a metre below ground