Buying a house but cracking found in the masonry

TheJackah

I’m in the process of buying a new house but the valuation found cracking in the masonry, so the mortgage lender has refused to lend until a structural survey takes place, which has now been booked.

But I’m wondering if anyone here can advise from the below pictures if this cracking looks like it could be damaging or if it’s OK or provide any advice.

Pictures: https://imgur.com/a/RpM3ksO

Norman_Castle

Has the white house removed or altered whatever supports the wall above the window?

davidmcn

Given you've had an actual surveyor come out and inspect the property, and declare that there appears to be cause for concern, I'm not sure how much use we're meant to be based on a single photo.

princeofpounds

I agree with davidmcn. I’d go one step further and say that the photos are of insufficient quality to really see what’s going on. In particular, the difference between crack and eroded paintwork is hard to see. And we don’t know which property you are actually buying.

But if you want a totally unqualified opinion I suppose I can give you one.

Yes there could be an issue here. The cracks appear to be big enough to involve real movement, although they are not huge. The fact that they show through paint that was presumably applied later in the life of the house suggest that they aren’t just a result of settlement. Furthermore it looks like there are more cracks elsewhere in the brickwork that aren’t fully captured in your photo - again hard to tell.

Because of the paint and the poor photo it’s hard to judge too much from the pattern of the cracks. I agree that window lintels are something to check. That side of the semi-detached potentially could have subsided away from the other slightly perhaps; perhaps a drain collapse or similar localised issue affected this wall. This is all really speculation.

It’s kind of curious that the painted semi and the brick semi appear to be in such different condition.

Anyway good luck - hopefully it’s something easy to address.

Mutton_Geoff

Which one are you buying? The one on the right? I can see brick repointing to the unpainted house under the sat aerial and adjacent to the upstairs right hand window. Do all those windows open and close properly? It's quite common for older houses to start cracking when upvc windows are put in as they don't support the lintels as well as an old timber framed window did.


I wonder why the owners didn't use the same mortar mix? It makes their cover up even more visible. How does the inside of those walls look (freshly decorated??) and the rear of the house?


Are the pair sliding down a hill? Is it a mining area with disused mineshafts underneath?

Doozergirl

It looks like the problem is next door. They've either knocked through an opening or doorway into that lean-to extension and not supported correctly, or it's trying to pull away from the party wall a bit. The stronger cracks under their window suggest pulling/dropping to the left, but there are cracks falling to the right too, which suggests the brickwork sagging because of a lack of support downstairs.

They are not great photos and next door's paint work shows up every bit of movement. There's nothing obvious on your side but some overall repointing on the right hand side. Doesn't look like a repair to crack, just general repointing.

Jonbvn

OP,

Are you buying the white painted house or the other one? As a civil engineer, my observations:

1. Unpainted house roof has been recently retiled/reinstated.
2. Unpainted house brickwork has been recently repointed.
3. Window on far right of 1st photo seems to be upside down.
4. Painted house has some significant masonry movement below the 1st floor window. The opening for the patio looks wider on the painted house, than next door. I am guessing that the lintel (or steel beam) is too small and has excessive deflection.

Regardless of which house you are buying, I think that this represents a serious problem.