Bay window cracks and other cracks

Sa4a

First time buyer here. We have viewed a 1930's property that we are interested in, but it has a number of internal cracks in the upstairs bedrooms. In the front bedroom there are two cracks running on either side of the bay window. The external wall under the bay window is covered by tiles.  


The bedroom at the back as a large crack above the window


If we were to go ahead with the property, we would get a structural engineer inspection. However, we were wondering whether these cracks are obvious signs of movement, and whether we could just move on.

Any advise appreciated 

stuart45

It is quite common to get movement in bays in older houses. There may well be a timber frame structure under the tiles on the upper bay. Has the lower bay moved at all, or is it mainly the upper bay?

princeofpounds

Indeed, bay windows are notorious for developing cracks. On the plus side, as long as it's just the construction of the bay itself that's a problem, then they aren't usually that expensive to fix. Those cracks you see there aren't especially wide, and if they weren't running up the bay across two stories I wouldn't be too worried about them. But they are, unfortunately. 

Personally I find the crack in the back bedroom more concerning. That's more than a plaster crack, and it's on a structural wall. 

FreeBear

Looks like uPVC replacement windows. Movement is possible if inadequate supports were used on the ground floor. If there are similar cracks in the downstairs rooms, that would suggest movement in the foundations.

Ask the vendors if lintels were installed on the outer leaf of brickwork when the windows were replaced - If they are unable to answer that, then you need to look for cracks in the mortar joints above the windows. With older properties, the windows often provided structural support for the brickwork above. FENSA have issued several briefings stating that a survey should be carried out and lintels fitted where required. If you are having a full building survey done, the surveyor should pick up on whether lintels are required/fitted.

youth_leader

I remember similar cracks being shown by someone last year and a poster suggested it could be the roof was replaced with concrete tiles?

Sa4a

stuart45 said:

Has the lower bay moved at all, or is it mainly the upper bay?

From as far as we can tell, it seems to just be the upper bay 

Sa4a

princeofpounds said:

Personally I find the crack in the back bedroom more concerning. That's more than a plaster crack, and it's on a structural wall. 

Those cracks in the back room do look bad. For my learning, is there any tell tale signs that cracks are more than a plaster crack? Is it because of the size and depth of the cracks? Thanks

Sa4a

youth_leader said:

I remember similar cracks being shown by someone last year and a poster suggested it could be the roof was replaced with concrete tiles?

I don't think they have replaced the roof. I'll double check though. Thanks 

Phil4432

Whats the guttering like at the front of the bay window?  Is rainwater stagnating at the base of the house?

london21

If getting a mortgage, lender might require a structural report.

m0t

We've had very similar cracks in the bay window in our bedroom and had a structural engineer look at it, he diagnosed seasonal movement.

The bay structure is built of timber and between the studs they mortared in brick then tile hung the outside. The timber bay is held to the brick house walls using big nails driven through the studs in to wooden blocks that were mortared in to the brickwork. It allows everything to move as it heats up and with moisture changes in the air and causes the cracking.

The rear one is concerning but could be caused by lintel failure, either from moisture damage (lintel is probably timber) or by removing the wood framed windows to replace with upvc as they will have been providing some support (one of our downstairs windows failed for this reason and looked very similar to your photo). If you are able to get a photo of the outside that might help diagnose the issue.

If you like the house you need to pay for a structural report and have funds available for some immediate remediation. I recently paid £500 to have two concrete lintels installed in our house (you will need two per window) and plastered in.