Is it subsiding repair or just pointing

cherry2017

Doesn't looks cracking.

Reddleman79

No damaged bricks, so I wouldn't worry about it.

grumbler

IMO, this depends. If it's a newish extension, this can be first signs of subsidence. If mortar is weak, and bricks are strong, they might not crack.

Section62

Reddleman79 said:

No damaged bricks, so I wouldn't worry about it.

Bricks don't always break when a wall is subject to settlement or subsidence.  The stepped mortar repair (and the quality of the repair) is enough to ring alarm bells.

OP, why the question?  Is this your property, or one you are thinking of buying?

stuart45

When there's movement in a wall, the cracks should be in the mortar joints rather than the bricks provided the mortar is weaker than the bricks.
That might be quite a recent repair, as black mortar usually goes grey after a few months.

cherry2017

Section62 said:

Reddleman79 said:

No damaged bricks, so I wouldn't worry about it.

Bricks don't always break when a wall is subject to settlement or subsidence.  The stepped mortar repair (and the quality of the repair) is enough to ring alarm bells.

OP, why the question?  Is this your property, or one you are thinking of buying?

There are some then crack inside of the room,  I am considering to buy it, the property looks good quality, and neighbours has no subsidence problem,

cherry2017

cherry2017 said:

Section62 said:

Reddleman79 said:

No damaged bricks, so I wouldn't worry about it.

Bricks don't always break when a wall is subject to settlement or subsidence.  The stepped mortar repair (and the quality of the repair) is enough to ring alarm bells.

OP, why the question?  Is this your property, or one you are thinking of buying?

There are some then crack inside of the room,  I am considering to buy it, the property looks good quality, and neighbours has no subsidence problem,

next to this wall, there are plenty flower plants and hedge, can those caused problem

Section62

cherry2017 said:

Section62 said:

Reddleman79 said:

No damaged bricks, so I wouldn't worry about it.

Bricks don't always break when a wall is subject to settlement or subsidence.  The stepped mortar repair (and the quality of the repair) is enough to ring alarm bells.

OP, why the question?  Is this your property, or one you are thinking of buying?

There are some then crack inside of the room,  I am considering to buy it, the property looks good quality, and neighbours has no subsidence problem,

It looks like some degree of subsidence then.  Is the wall part of an extension, or the original building?

The plants in the picture you posted are unlikely to be the cause - their roots will be relatively shallow and water demand fairly low.

Unless you've got large trees/hedges nearby then it is probably a construction issue.

A surveyor is likely to flag this up as a concern, so if you need a mortgage you are going to have to think whether you want to spend money on progressing the purchase if the mortgage company are going to baulk at the 's' word.

cherry2017

Section62 said:

cherry2017 said:

Section62 said:

Reddleman79 said:

No damaged bricks, so I wouldn't worry about it.

Bricks don't always break when a wall is subject to settlement or subsidence.  The stepped mortar repair (and the quality of the repair) is enough to ring alarm bells.

OP, why the question?  Is this your property, or one you are thinking of buying?

There are some then crack inside of the room,  I am considering to buy it, the property looks good quality, and neighbours has no subsidence problem,

It looks like some degree of subsidence then.  Is the wall part of an extension, or the original building?

The plants in the picture you posted are unlikely to be the cause - their roots will be relatively shallow and water demand fairly low.

Unless you've got large trees/hedges nearby then it is probably a construction issue.

A surveyor is likely to flag this up as a concern, so if you need a mortgage you are going to have to think whether you want to spend money on progressing the purchase if the mortgage company are going to baulk at the 's' word.

It's the original building, there is no record of subsidence of the house, I read news 2022 was high temp and dry, UK had highest subsidence claim for 16 years, if this caused buy dry weather, and there are no visible crack .., might be one time movement?

cherry2017

Section62 said:

Reddleman79 said:

No damaged bricks, so I wouldn't worry about it.

Bricks don't always break when a wall is subject to settlement or subsidence.  The stepped mortar repair (and the quality of the repair) is enough to ring alarm bells.

OP, why the question?  Is this your property, or one you are thinking of buying?

It seemed the insurance company didn't Identify this wall as subsidence? How does insurance company assess the subsidence, do they treat some problems as foundation movement?

Section62

cherry2017 said:

Section62 said:

Reddleman79 said:

No damaged bricks, so I wouldn't worry about it.

Bricks don't always break when a wall is subject to settlement or subsidence.  The stepped mortar repair (and the quality of the repair) is enough to ring alarm bells.

OP, why the question?  Is this your property, or one you are thinking of buying?

It seemed the insurance company didn't Identify this wall as subsidence? How does insurance company assess the subsidence, do they treat some problems as foundation movement?

Do the insurance company even know there was a problem and/or repair work done?  And how have you found out what they think?  If you are just going on what the vendor is saying then you will need to get your own independent advice.

2022 was an unusually hot and dry year, but this doesn't 'excuse' relatively modern buildings showing signs of movement - modern buildings should have foundations that start below the lowest level that seasonal variations in moisture (and temperature (=frost)) can influence.  If a modern building is subject to subsidence or heave due to seasonal weather then something has gone wrong with the design.

If the wall which has been repaired was on an extension then it would be somewhat less of a concern - extensions are notorious for being built badly, or having different foundations to the main building creating the risk of differential movement.  That this wall is part of the original house - and assuming the foundations are the same - is enough to make it a case where advice from a structural engineer would be wise.