House purchase/survey/external wall cracking

LisaA81

Hi,
I'm in the process of buying a house and we have have just received the building survey for it. the surveyor has pointed out some external cracking to the render on the front of the building and stated the following
'There is cracking to the front elevation that is likely to be caused by faulty drainage. A specialist drainage contractor’s report will therefore be required, which should involve a pressure test, possibly followed by a CCTV inspection. If a defect is found, it is likely that the drains will be able to be sleeved. However, if defects are found, some excavations may be necessary as the subsoil/substrata beneath the foundations may have eroded away, creating voids. Therefore, trial inspection pits will need to be dug to ensure that the matrix of the earth is stable. If the soil is found to be unstable, further work to underpin the property may be required. The drainage inspection and trial pits will need to be supervised by a Structural Engineer who will then be able to provide you with a structural adequacy certificate, which will be required for your buildings insurance. Once the drains are repaired, and/or the foundations are confirmed as stable, the cracks can be repointed. All cracks should be raked out to a depth of around 2cm to ensure a good key for the new mortar. Lime mortar and not cement should be used to allow the brickwork to breathe.'
The vendors have basically said that they didn't even realise there was cracking and don't believe it to be a major issue.
I can't see any further cracking to the brickwork, it's all located on the render only.
Is the surveyor just being overly cautious? Should we do the drainage survey mentione dthe surveyor? I'm going to call the surveyor for explain further but advice on questions to ask on next steps would be great

Thanks
Lisa

AdrianC

The vendors said "Nah, no problem with the house we'd like you to buy - honest..." - hmm... No vested interest there, is there?

If the house is rendered, you can't see the brickwork anyway - it's behind the render.

Is the surveyor being overly cautious? <shrug> The results of the tests will tell you that.

Got any pics?

sgun

Do the drainage survey, its what £140 ish for the CCTV part? (that's what ours was). That will show any defects, the rest of the surveyor recommendations are over the top until you know if there is actually any damage to the drains.

Doozergirl

How bad is the cracking?

All houses move and cement render is inflexible. Cracking is inevitable over time.

I'd do the CCTV because it's always worth doing, but cracked render that can't be that bad if you're taking the vendors word that they hadn't really noticed. It doesn't ring particular alarm bells.

It's render, render cracks would be my first thought.

FreeBear

Doozergirl wrote: »

All houses move and cement render is inflexible. Cracking is inevitable over time.

The surveyor recommends repointing in lime and not a cement mortar. So from that little comment, I wonder if the render is also lime.

LisaA81

It looks like I can't provide a link to a pic as I'm a new user.
The cracking is in two places. On right-hand side of the building near the upstairs window the cracking stepped and I would say is about 1m in length. On the left-hand side it more of vertical crack but it's approx. 50cm

FreeBear

Post the link without the http or www bit, and someone will figure it out and repost.

LisaA81

I've uploaded to my pinterest account, hopefully it's viewable.
pin/200691727132393960/

parking_question_chap

I would be asking why their first thought is a drainage issue further down the wall, rather than simply cracking just to the render itelf.

Doozergirl

LisaA81 wrote: »

I've uploaded to my pinterest account, hopefully it's viewable.
pin/200691727132393960/

I have no idea how I access a Pinterest account with a long number like that.

LisaA81

Ok I've added it dropbox, so you just need the usual url on the front of this
/s/60sii15pua4g8z5/render%20crack.PNG?dl=0