Crack in the Wall - What is best to do?

MR1988

Hello everyone!

I'm a homeowner since a month ago and after moving in we decided to redecorate the bedroom as my partner didn't like the wallpaper inside and wanted to paint it instead.

So we started peeling the paper when we came across this "monster". We are not too sure what to do about it. I have asked left and right and while some people said to just fill the crack and patch it up, some said I should have a professional check it out. Which I kind of agree, maybe it's best to have a professional check it out in case the structural integrity of the wall is compromised.

The crack goes from under the window to the corner of the window and then another crack continues at the top of the window.

I have checked outside and there doesn't seem to be any crack on the outside, but I notice the crack goes along the border where new brick was installed couple of years ago.

I have asked our neighbour and they said many years ago a tree hit the back of the house and damaged the wall, and the wall was rebuilt, hence the colour difference in the brick wall. (I have attached photos).

I've been told it could be that the inside wasn't completely fixed and that's why the crack form there along where the newly built brick was used but I have no experience and I am a bit worried since it seems to be quite deep. I have tried taking some videos as well in case if that would help giving an opinion.

Videos Link: https://ufile.io/f/wxrbn

Not sure where to upload videos to play online without downloading.

I've been reading on other older threads and I notice some people recommend asking for insurance provider to send an engineer to check it out because a private company would make a big deal even if it wasn't just to charge money for an easy fix. What steps should we take and who should we get in touch with?

rob7475

I'm not sure I'd be involving my insurance company just yet - they look for any excuse to increase your premiums.

You have a couple of options really:
1. You monitor it for a while to see if it gets any worse over the next 6 months or so.
2. You get a structural engineer out to survey it (shouldn't cost more than a few hundred pounds). This would put your mind at ease that it's nothing serious hopefully.

There's a fair old chance it was a sub standard repair in the past. Your third option is to repair it now and see if the issue comes back. This is what I'd be tempted to do. The brickwork on the outside looks OK even though it's a different colour from and old repair. There's no cracks that I can see and the pointing looks fairly old so hasn't been patched up to sell.

Martin_the_Unjust

I would fill it, decorate and keep an eye on it.

FreeBear

rob7475 said: Your third option is to repair it now and see if the issue comes back. This is what I'd be tempted to do.

Had a similar looking crack in a solid brick wall (double thickness). Used helibars and stitched the crack from both sides and plastered/rendered the wall. One year on, no sign of cracks or anything that would indicate movement. No point in involving insurance as they would have written it off as "historic" and put it down to being a maintenance issue.

plumb1_2

I’d do as freebear said.I repaired a wall far worse than that with about 12 large cracks, used 20 helibars and resin. Then plastered over. About 4 years ago, and not movement since.
wouldn’t involve insurance, it will stay on file for years, even if you inquire about it and not actually put a claim in. Plus you will have to declare it if you sell.

fenwick458

unless the wall was completely skimmed after the tree hit it I wouldn't be worried. it's probably been caused by the tree hitting it.
looks like thermalite blocks which are pretty crap, not surprising it's cracked.
I'd fill it up with dry wall adhesive, make it quite runny and get as much as you can squeezed into the crack to fill it up. then scrape that back a little before it sets, after it's gone  off put a layer of fine surface filler over the top and sand it flat then redecorate

MR1988

Thank you everyone for your advice, really put my mind at ease. I will chip away at the crack and fill it up and keep monitoring see if it's going to surface again.

MR1988

 Little update. So today I chipped away at the sides of the crack and removed the lining paper and parts of the broken plaster/wall.

 At the top of the window there's brick, and seems like the crack/space goes between the bricks.

 Below the window there's like two rows of brick and below that there's no more brick! The wall is made of some material that looks like cement/grout.. not too sure as I have no experience.

 Between this cement and the outside brick wall I notice there is a yellow insulator?

 I have asked my neighbour to come check it out since he lived here for a long time and he is older and more experienced. He said that after the tree hit the house they didn't have it fixed properly on the inside. I did find pieces of plaster board broken and just stuck in between the bricks/inside the crack and then just covered with a fine surface filler/lining paper.

 So I want to follow the advice and use some helibars and fix this myself. Putting the helibars between the brick lines doesn't seem like rocket science but I'm not sure how to approach this task with the bottom part where there is no brick and is this cement wall. Sounds like I have to grind trenches inside the wall where the bars would come in? I'll check out some online videos I guess.

 Would you recommend to buy the helibars and the grout, tools separately or buy one of those helifix packs that contain everything? I have taken a look and the pack seems more expensive than buying the stuff separately..

 I have attached some photos of the crack after I chipped at it and removed some debris.

 

stuart45

It looks like a block wall. Bricks are used where you need to get the level right, such as under the frame, or higher up at joists or plate height.
Blocks are about 9 inches high including the joint. Looks like your house was built around the 60's, so will have a couple of coats of sand/cement over the blocks, and then a plaster skim.
The yellow looks like foam used to fill the crack.

FreeBear

MR1988 said: So I want to follow the advice and use some helibars and fix this myself. Putting the helibars between the brick lines doesn't seem like rocket science but I'm not sure how to approach this task with the bottom part where there is no brick and is this cement wall. Sounds like I have to grind trenches inside the wall where the bars would come in? I'll check out some online videos I guess.

It isn't rocket science, but you do need a few tools - An angle grinder with a carbide mortar rake (plus goggles & decent dust mask) for cutting the slots. Very messy and dusty work !

The grout has a very fast setting time (around 30 mins), so you don't have a lot of time to get the bars in, grouted, and tools cleaned. When I did my wall, I weighed out enough fry grout for a single bar and did it one at a time. The slots were all cut in one hit though.

stuart45

I'd probably rebuild the top bit round the lintel and under the plate. You might find it hard to get a good tie in there.