External cracks in brickwork

torch_light

I moved into a new build in March 2017, and on the rear corner of the house are some signs of cracking and movement. Wife says I am paranoid, I think I have a right to be concerned.

Img. 1 shows the crack that starts between window frame, through the sill and down to the tap we had put in. Some of it is stepped some of it is straight through whole bricks.


Image 2 shows the full extent of the run through past the tap and stepped down to the ground level. The damp course is high up due to the incline of the ground. Also this picture shows pretty clearly toward the bottom right of the wall the difference in the size of the joints. Some are as big as three fingers wide and some the bricks are almost butted against each other. This goes for both vertical and horizontal joints. Especially two course up from the ground and five bricks up from the ground.




Pictures 3 and 4 show the same side of the building as the others but toward the very corner of the building, again way below the damp course and some stepping and also some bricks cracked. If I lean some weight onto the bricks I am pretty sure that I can feel those move slightly.




Is it too soon after building to start to feel some concern? The soil is very heavy clay, is it a problem that it seems worse below the damp course? Some corner bricks look as though they have already been replaced below those that have cracked at the corner, would this perhaps worsen an already poor piece of work?

Any help would be gratefully received, even if it is don't worry it is nothing!!!

DonnySaver

The fact that the cracks have gone through the actual bricks would be a concern to me.

With new builds you do expect a certain amount of 'settling' to take place such as internal cracks in the plaster etc. I wouldn't expect to see exterior brickwork cracked though.

Happy for someone to come along and tell me otherwise though ..

torch_light

Thanks for your reply.

I was surprised by the amount of nail heads that have split through the plaster inside the house until I read that this is normal settling.

We have feather like cracks in plaster and on ceilings but you can easily tell the difference between those that are settling and a bad problem indoors. These on the other hand are something that I am not so sure about.

FreeBear

torch_light wrote: »

I was surprised by the amount of nail heads that have split through the plaster inside the house until I read that this is normal settling.

British Gypsum (and other manufacturers) recommend using screws to fix platerboard nowadays. With cordless drills in just about every tradesman's tool bag, screwing is quick, easy, and less likely to damage the plasterboard.

teneighty

The stepped crack by the external steps looks like it might be following the line of a stepped damp proof course.

The others look like thermal movement or expansion cracks,

Certainly worth getting them checked out. Initially I would report it to the builder to investigate.

torch_light

FreeBear wrote: »

British Gypsum (and other manufacturers) recommend using screws to fix platerboard nowadays. With cordless drills in just about every tradesman's tool bag, screwing is quick, easy, and less likely to damage the plasterboard.

Sorry my bad I meant screwheads, in the office where I am sat, there are three showing above the window, two on one wall and one on another. It spoils the fresh paint with little round targets all over.

The damp course is straight across inbetween the large aiplastic air brick and the spacer above it. The crack that runs to the floor doesn't seem to follow anything really.

Kiran

Is there a gulley/drain underneath that tap? The block paving looks to be dipping severely at the base of the stairs. You/others don't leave the tap running onto the ground do you by any chance?


A very rough guide with cracks is draw an imaginary line perpendicular to the crack and that will point you to the primary issue which looks to be under the tap.

torch_light

Kiran wrote: »

Is there a gulley/drain underneath that tap? The block paving looks to be dipping severely at the base of the stairs. You/others don't leave the tap running onto the ground do you by any chance?


A very rough guide with cracks is draw an imaginary line perpendicular to the crack and that will point you to the primary issue which looks to be under the tap.

The block paving has an awful up down dip to it, but it has only been down as long as the house. (since March). The tap is less than a month old, it doesn't drip and has a stop !!!! inside to turn it off to the mains if needs be. Can I blame the corner of the house? perhaps there are problems hidden away?

parking_question_chap

I think we are all guessing, probably best you get a groundworker/surveyor out to assess the drainage.

One additional thing I will throw into the ring, as its not mentioned above. The mortar looks really solid, generally any settlement cracks would appear in the mortar as its designed to be weaker than the bricks. If your mortar is similar in strength to the bricks, you could find the bricks breaking instead. I will caveat my observation as its pure speculation and impossible to tell from a photo, but something worth checking.

Block paving could just have been put down badly, doesn mean it must be dropping due to water.

Kiran

If it's only been down since March, and I'm presuming the paving didn't look like that when you moved in then my money is still on that being the problem area. Does you incoming water enter the house in this area by any chance? If so do you have a higher than average water bill?

As the above post, without digging a trial hole it's difficult to diagnose the problem reading descriptions and looking at photos on small screen. Get the builder back to correct it before it gets worse.

torch_light

The block paving as far as I can tell hasn't moved.

The water in pipe is at the front of the house.

Parking question chap, there is plenty of grouting that has cracked, but its mostly stepped. Where this differs is on the corner where there is the 'block' of cracked bricks.

I know it is all a bit of a shot in the dark, just thought I would see what the general thinking was/is.

Thanks again for all your replies and taking the time.