First time buyer vertical cracks in exterior brick wall

jamie9090

Hi,

We are in the process of buying a house but I've noticed a couple of cracks in the external brick walls which are a bit concerning.

The first is on the side wall of the house below a window. It is about 1.3m long and goes through bricks and mortar, it is about 4mm wide at the widest points (towards the top). It extends down to the level of another small window/vent and doesn't go down to the ground. The windows of the house have all been replaced (probably in the last 5 years) so I'm wondering whether it could have happened then or whether this is a structural issue?

The second crack is a stepped crack through mortar above a new door (in the last 5 years) at the back of the house.

The house is a reposession so we have no history from the current owners.

Do you think this is a serious problem? Any ideas of what repair would involve/cost?

Thanks a lot in advance

Jamie

jamie9090

Photos here:

www DOT diynot DOT C0M /network/jamie9090/albums/18726/70090

Thrugelmir

What did the surveyor say?

martinthebandit

Surveyor is the right answer, but, depending on the construction, I wouldn't be worrying too much about them.

ACG

If your getting a basic valuation done i would point this out to them so they dont miss it. If your getting a homebuyers/building survey then i would expect it to be picked up anyway.

NeverInDebt

http://www.diynot.com/network/jamie9090/albums/18726/70090


http://www.diynot.com/network/jamie9090/albums/18726/70091


http://www.diynot.com/network/jamie9090/albums/18726/70092


http://www.diynot.com/network/jamie9090/albums/18726/70093



The second crack is a stepped crack through mortar above a new door (in the last 5 years) at the back of the house.



http://www.diynot.com/network/jamie9090/albums/18726/70094

Read more: http://www.diynot.com/forums/building/vertical-crack-on-external-brick-wall.386070/#ixzz2muNlYs00

Also asked same question here save duplicate answers

http://www.diynot.com/forums/building/vertical-crack-on-external-brick-wall.386070/

I_have_spoken

Do you think this is a serious problem?

On balance, yes.

Looks like there's been a previous repair attempted on side wall, so the movement is ongoing and not-historical.

Also cracks that go right through brick rather than follow the mortar are always more concerning.

I'd certainly not complete without a full structural survey and be prepared to walk away.

jamie9090

Thanks for the prompt replies and to NeverInDebt for posting the pictures

We haven't had the survey yet and hadn't noticed this until we were looking around the house again over the weekend.

We're having a homebuyers survey tomorrow so will let you know what they think.

Do you know who would be the best person to investigate this further if necessary?

Farside

Subsidence, cracks don't go down straight through bricks for no reason. Stepped cracks can just be settlement so not too bad but NOT vertical cracks straight through brickwork mate! Double check close nearby, are there any trees? You may have to get a structural surveyor to check as the house could be built over a sewer drain that has given way (they'll check with a special camera down the drain), could be because roots of a tree penetrated the pipes or simply because the trees took all the moisture away from under house or pipes.

i'd walk away from this property without doubt.

Farside

also you can expect stepped cracks more often under windows as this is the weakest point on the wall.

jamie9090

There are no trees nearby but there are drains in the area below where the cracks are.

It's really frustrating as apart from this it is our ideal home and we have been looking for 2 years

If this is subsidence what are our options (other than walking away)?

We could try renegotiating the price but how would I find out what the repair will cost? Will a surveyor be able to tell me this?

Will we be able to get buildings insurance to cover this?

Thanks