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Property survey- wall condition rating 2

Please see below comment from survey report and advise. Thanks
------------------

The walls are built with an air gap between the inner and outer skins of masonry, called a cavity wall. In this period a cavity wall construction comprises two leaves of brick about 280mm thick, separated by a gap of about 50mm which can be insulated. The leaves are secured together with wall ties. Wall ties are commonly in the form of twisted strip of steel 
(vertical twist ties) with a protective coating of bitumen or galvanised with zinc.
The extension walls are also cavity construction although I have been unable to establish a build date.
Your legal adviser should check and confirm that all local authority approvals are in place for the extension works including the issue of a completion certificate which must be 
obtained prior to legal commitment to purchase.The availability of such documentation would indicate that interim inspections were carried out to confirm the compliance of unseen items, for example foundation design, and adequate damp proofing, ventilation, and insulation.
By way of further explanation please see the information supplied in the link below.
https://www.labc.co.uk/homeowners/do­i­need­a­completion­certificate­for­building­work­in-my­house.The mortar between the bricks, called pointing, is in a good condition with no repairs 
currently required.
At first floor level the walls are rendered.
There is no evidence of any foundation cracking at ground level.In properties built before 1981 there is always some concern regarding the corrosion of metal ties connecting the inner and outer leaf of brickwork in cavity wall constructions.
You have mentioned that the owner told you he had had some repairs carried out.
The walls to both the front and side show signs of a cavity wall tie repair. You should ask your legal adviser to check if a valid insurance backed guarantee or warranty covers this work (see section I2). If not, you should ask an appropriately qualified person to inspect the walls and check the suitability of the repair.Some hairline cracking is evident in the render to the front, side, rear and to the bay 
between the ground and first floor windows. Cementitious render is a rigid coating and therefore as the building moves, which all structures do, overtime hairline cracks candevelop.
The pattern of some of the cracking to the main walls can be an indicator of a wall tie 
problem, which as already mentioned, has been addressed. Elsewhere it is suspected the the cracking is due to a degree of thermal movement.
It is important that these small hairline cracks are sealed. If not attended to the freeze/thaw action of any water that is allowed to penetrate behind the coating can overtime result in 
the render becoming loose, and more serious issues developing. Condition rating 2.
There should be a lintel over every window and door opening to support the weight of the wall above, however in older properties the walls were often built with the window in place, the brickwork sitting on the timber window frame without the use of a lintel.
When timber windows are replaced lintels should be installed as plastic windows do not have the same load bearing capability as an older style timber frame.
Looking at the brickwork is is evident that a lintel has not been fitted over the kitchen 
window during the replacement works and although I could not see a problem now, 
distortion or cracking in the brickwork in the future may occur. This has the potential to 
affect the operation of the openable window and can also cause failure in the double ­glazing units.
Therefore, you must accept this risk or alternatively ask an appropriately qualified person to provide you with a quotation for the insertion of a lintel which will be disruptive.
In addition I am unable to confirm the nature of the support to the masonry over the ground floor front bay. I would refer you to my comments in section E5 in regard to guarantees.
Where visible there is a bitumen damp proof course (DPC) at the base of the external walls. This is an impermeable layer present to reduce the risk of dampness.
Moisture meter readings were taken on the internal faces of the external walls and in 
general no unduly high readings were registered, other than those already mentioned in section E3.
Ground levels around the property are satisfactory.
It is good practice to maintain a 150mm (two bricks) clearance between external levels and tphe damp courses to prevent possible bridging and damp penetration. This should be borne 
in mind should you plan to alter the pathways around the base of the walls.
The air bricks visible at the base of the external walls are present to ensure adequate 
ventilation to the sub floor void to minimise the build up of moisture that can promote the development of rot and other defects in the timbers that support the floors. You should ensure that these are kept clean and free from obstruction.
There are also air bricks at the rear of the dining area extension which has a solid floor. It is assumed that these are ducted through the slab to provide through ventilation to the timber floor of the main house. This is deemed good practice although I must add that I have not carried out any invasive inspection to confirm this theory, nor seen any documentary evidence.
As part of a maintenance routine the walls should be examined regularly for changes in the nature of any cracking or other defects that may become apparent.
You should carry out a thorough visual inspection at least once a year, ideally in the spring to identify and repair any damage that could have been caused by winter weather.

Comments

  • Salemicus
    Salemicus Posts: 343 Forumite
    Sixth Anniversary 100 Posts Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    My advice is you stop creating so many threads about your survey. 
  • User4search
    User4search Posts: 119 Forumite
    Sixth Anniversary 10 Posts
    This one is last thread . Thanks 😊.  Looking for valuable advice 
  • stuart45
    stuart45 Posts: 4,920 Forumite
    Seventh Anniversary 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    Pick out the parts that concern you and ask the questions on those. A lot of it is just describing the type of construction you have.
  • User4search
    User4search Posts: 119 Forumite
    Sixth Anniversary 10 Posts
    Ok ta , crack on wall is main concern as shown in pic , is there serious to worry about or can be fix with cement etc? 
  • staffie1
    staffie1 Posts: 1,967 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Photogenic
    I would have thought you’d have asked the RICS surveyor you have paid to advise you, or ask them to recommend a structural engineer to advise you.
    If you will the end, you must will the means.
  • stuart45
    stuart45 Posts: 4,920 Forumite
    Seventh Anniversary 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    If that is masonry as the surveyor seems to think, it could be a problem if the crack goes right through the brickwork. 
    In between the bays is often timber framed, but a single skin of brickwork was sometimes used. The old timber windows were strong enough to take the weight, but when replaced with plastic there were often problems. 
    Nowadays there are lintels that will take a cavity wall on a bay.
    Square Bay Lintel - Catnic - Lintel for square bay window
  • weeg
    weeg Posts: 1,077 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    Nope, you can just fill with cement. Figure out why it's cracked, fix that problem, and then do a cosmetic repair. As per the report, most likely cause is replacement with load bearing timber with non load bearing plastic. The problem ain't going away until that's rectified.
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