Stairstep crack in exterior wall

Phobia16

Hi,

I'm new to the forum and I'm a first time buyer looking for assistance on buying a house.

I've put an offer in on a house and shortly after noticed a crack in the exterior wall under the kitchen window.

The estate agent sent a surveyor round to look at the crack and confirmed the following:

Crack is only 1mm wide and is not of structural concern. A 1mm crack has also been noted on the internal plasterboard in the same area. Also hairline cracks on the right corner of the ceiling of the kitchen due the plasterboards being butted in too tight. Surveyor also said cracks were likely to have been caused by being knocked on the replacement of a waste pipe behind that wall. However, the surveyor was only instrcuted to look at the kitchen and not the rest of the house or the foundations.

Now a report has come back to say the drains are blocked and a drain survey is required.

Would a full structural survey prove the house is subsiding or not?:eek:

DTDfanBoy

If you want to find out what the issue is have a survey commissioned yourself, do not rely on anything told to you by the EA.

A matching crack on the interior and exterior of the house would have needed one hell of a " knock " , perhaps whoever replaced the waste pipe backed into the house with their truck :eek:

G_M

The estate agent works for the seller, not you. So do not rely on anything he says or on a survey instructed by the seller or the agent.

Use your own surveyor. A Homebuyers, or full strucural, survey will give an indication of the cause/seriousness of the crack, but when it comes to subsidence etc you would probabky be referred to a 'Structural Engineer' ( a bit like a GP referring you to a hospital consultant).

So you could choose to skip the survey (assuming you are happy to risk missing other issues elsewhere or look for them yourself) and just pay a structural engineer to look at that particular crack and report on it.

davidwoody

Phobia16 wrote: »

Now a report has come back to say the drains are blocked and a drain survey is required.

Did this recommendation come back from the valuation report?

Phobia16

G_M wrote: »

The estate agent works for the seller, not you. So do not rely on anything he says or on a survey instructed by the seller or the agent.

Use your own surveyor. A Homebuyers, or full strucural, survey will give an indication of the cause/seriousness of the crack, but when it comes to subsidence etc you would probabky be referred to a 'Structural Engineer' ( a bit like a GP referring you to a hospital consultant).

So you could choose to skip the survey (assuming you are happy to risk missing other issues elsewhere or look for them yourself) and just pay a structural engineer to look at that particular crack and report on it.

Thanks for your advice. The surveyor was appointed by the estate agents but is liable to both me and the seller apparently...? As our names are on the report.
This surveyor does not believe the crack to be of structural concern or caused by subsidence of the house but i question his opinion on how the crack got there. If it wasn't subsidence then what caused it... Is the wall being knocked a likely explaination...

My surveyor has been out and noticed the drains are blocked and i now need a report on the drains and any subsequent repairs carried out in order to get my mortgage approved. He said he also noticed the crack but hasn't even mentioned it in my homebuyers report as he hasn't considered it a concern and it wouldn't stop me getting the mortgage.

This is where my confusion is: Is this a genuine fill in the crack and never worry about it again or should it be possible to get the foundations checked for subsidence? Is this where i get a structural engineer to assess the foundations?

Yorkie1

Given that your surveyor agrees that the crack isn't significant, you may feel that that puts your mind at ease on this point.

G_M

Phobia16 wrote: »

Thanks for your advice. The surveyor was appointed by the estate agents but is liable to both me and the seller apparently...? As our names are on the report.
Unusual. Who has paid for this, and who instructed the surveyor?

My surveyor has been out and ..... He said he also noticed the crack but hasn't even mentioned it in my homebuyers report as he hasn't considered it a concern and it wouldn't stop me getting the mortgage.

Well in that case you either trust/believe these two surveyors, one of whom works entirely for you, or you decide they are not to be trusted as you think the crack is ominous and you look for a different, crack-free, property.

Phobia16

G_M wrote: »

Well in that case you either trust/believe these two surveyors, one of whom works entirely for you, or you decide they are not to be trusted as you think the crack is ominous and you look for a different, crack-free, property.

Agreed. Do you think I would have problems selling the house in the future, if people see a repaired stair step patterned crack in the mortar of a wall?

G_M

They would go through the same survey and thought processes that you are going through.