Cracks in Wall & now Ceilings, who can help?

Anne25_2

So I’ve noticed a few cracks in the front bedroom internal wall of my home - and now (as of today) a huge crack in the ceiling too. I have been in touch with a “chartered surveyor” about this. They have provided me with a quote of £450 + VAT to inspect the area and provide a report identifying the problems and remedial works which should be carried out.

Is this the correct course of action?

Someone has suggested a “structural engineer” should be the correct person to contact. Do they do the same thing? Is there an advantage to one over the other?

I have made many mistakes with the purchase of this property and do not want to make any more, so any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

societys_child

Any corresponding cracks externally?
Where's the crack in the ceiling, how old is the house, can you post some photos?


So many questions ..

SG27

The surveyor is likely to say potentially structural movement get specialist structural engineers report. So if it were me I would go straight for the specialist in the area you want examining.

Davesnave

I agree with SG27. It's way too soon to predict anything from your short post, but if progressive movement is suspected, it would be a structural engineer who would set up and monitor measurement devices.

However, there are other reasons for the sort of thing you're seeing, so don't be alarmed. From where we're sitting, we don't even know whether its an old or a young house.

buglawton

Think of a ceiling as a sheet of material nailed to a wooden frame. It's then thinly covered with a brittle layer of plaster. It's practically designed to crack over time. All you should worry about is real movement of the structure to which the ceiling is pinned. If exterior brickwork is not moving - no gaps or cracks appearing - there's less to worry about. If the building is old enough to have been built with soft mortar than the external walls can gradually change shape over time, causing internal plaster to crack. Again not an immediate source of worry. In my house the internal door frames were no longer square when I moved in, surveyor never remarked on it. Real subsidence would make itself known via gaps in the external mortar.

Anne25_2

Thank you for all your responses. I am unable to post pics on this forum, don’t know why but I’ve tried before and it didn’t work.

I wasn’t really looking for advice on the cracks from this forum just advice on who to contact about them. But since people have asked, here is some more info:

House is old, 1920s semi

Recently we’ve had new windows and lintels (the one in this room was particularly difficult to fit according to our builder)

Had someone come round to measure up for blinds last week, he pointed out that this window (top part of the recess where brackets would be fitted) is sagging slightly and he would be unable to fit a blind there until fixed! This is the window close to the area of cracking.

Next door neighbours (other half of our semi) have previously done a loft conversion - no building regs

Previous owners of our home have done a partial loft conversion - no building regs

As you can see there are a few possible causes, the ceiling crack runs across the whole length of the ceiling and only appeared yesterday! Wall cracks around window appeared a few weeks after window was replaced so we assumed that the window and lintel replacement was the most likely cause.

Hoping to sell this house in the next year so we would like to fix all the problems before doing so!

Thanks

LandyAndy

Anne25 wrote: »

Thank you for all your responses. I am unable to post pics on this forum, don’t know why but I’ve tried before and it didn’t work.


Thanks

You can't post pictures direct to this site.

You need to upload them to a hosting site and then post the link here.

Because you have made so few posts you will not be able to post such a link in full. You will have to post it with a break or two in it so that we can then stitch it back together for you.

societys_child

I am unable to post pics

Save the photo(s) to your desktop

go to :https://postimages.org/
click 'Choose Images' - pics on your desktop should appear
click the pic you want - then click 'OPEN'
A menu appears - First on menu is 'LINK' - click the corresponding icon on right hand side. Should say 'Copied'
Paste the link into your forum post.
* Delete the HTTPS:// from the link before posting.