Cracks

verytired11

Having received an offer on my house I am now worried about the buyer's survey.  When I bought the property it had previously been underpinned for subsidence. That was 25 years ago.  There have been a few hairline cracks over the years and a surveyor looked at them and said they were nothing to worry about.  But now I have seen this crack in the skirting board and it looks alarming to me.  I am pretty sure it's been there for ever, hence not having previously worried about it. But now I am wondering why I haven't been worried about it.  I know the only thing I can do is sit tight until the survey is done, but what are people's thoughts?  And is there anything I can do at this point?

theartfullodger

That's not hairline is it.  I'd want £10k's off for that.

Next time..... redecorate over anything iffy first......

verytired11

theartfullodger said:

That's not hairline is it.  I'd want £10k's off for that.

Next time..... redecorate over anything iffy first......

Presumably a surveyor would notice if I had filled this crack though?

MovingForwards

What's the rest of the wall like?

verytired11

MovingForwards said:

What's the rest of the wall like?

There's no cracks on the wall above the skirting board, just a few hairline cracks coming out of the top of the doorframe.  But on the floor above there's a crack in the ceiling coving in the same part of the house, if that makes sense.  There is nothing alarming in any of the walls.

AdrianC

theartfullodger said:

That's not hairline is it.  I'd want £10k's off for that.

Next time..... redecorate over anything iffy first......

The wall above it's uncracked - and doesn't look like it's been touched for years.

I suspect the key here is "noticed". Bit of flexible decorator's caulk, slap some gloss white over, job jobbed.

Looks to me that the little stub of skirting is better attached to the door frame than the main skirting, and it's just a bit of normal movement over the decades since that corner last saw any great love.

verytired11

AdrianC said:

theartfullodger said:

That's not hairline is it.  I'd want £10k's off for that.

Next time..... redecorate over anything iffy first......

The wall above it's uncracked - and doesn't look like it's been touched for years.

I suspect the key here is "noticed". Bit of flexible decorator's caulk, slap some gloss white over, job jobbed.

Looks to me that the little stub of skirting is better attached to the door frame than the main skirting, and it's just a bit of normal movement over the decades since that corner last saw any great love.

That's reassuring, thanks

Mickygg

I would defo caulk and gloss. I would have done that years ago.

If the survey is to be booked in next few days remember the gloss smell is distinct, so I really would just gloss the crack and not be tempted to start to gloss the whole skirting board

maisie_cat

All decorative wood moves, before we sold our last house we caulked all the architrave, skirting cracks.
Having said that a surveyor will know the difference between natural wood movement and subsidence, but a buyer might not.

verytired11

maisie_cat said:

All decorative wood moves, before we sold our last house we caulked all the architrave, skirting cracks.
Having said that a surveyor will know the difference between natural wood movement and subsidence, but a buyer might not.

Thanks.  I guess since the buyer has already made the offer, he can't be worried about it so perhaps it's something I should have done prior to viewings and is not so important now.

verytired11

Mickygg said:

I would defo caulk and gloss. I would have done that years ago.

If the survey is to be booked in next few days remember the gloss smell is distinct, so I really would just gloss the crack and not be tempted to start to gloss the whole skirting board

Thanks.  I have had quite a tough few years in various ways and a few jobs have been left longer than they should.  The agent advised not to bother doing anything up since it is clear the house needs TLC and that most likely any buyer would want to put in a new kitchen and completely overhaul everything.  Hopefully therefore my buyer is well aware what he is taking on.  He's not a first time buyer and is buying for catchment for schools, so fingers crossed.

That's a good tip about the gloss.  That's my main worry about doing a repair at this late stage......