Noticed cracks in brick on house we have just bought

darkazuria

Hi,

My partner and I just bought our first house, got the keys a few weeks ago and just noticed a crack in the corner of the house (there's a crack on both side of that corner). The surveyor didn't pick this up so we are quite surprised. Either they missed it or it happened between October and now. Looks like it stops where the DPC is. 

House was built mid 1990s and is a semi. We noticed the neighbour's house has similar cracks in the same corner of their house. - The area is clay soil.

Not sure what our best course of action is. Should we get in touch with the surveyor and ask his opinion and why it might have been missed? Or are we better off just getting a structural engineer to come have a look?

This isn't our forever home and we were planning on selling in about 5 years so worried this is an issue we will have to declare and that it could affect resale value.

So was wondering, legally, would it be better to just do nothing or if we should get in touch with the surveyor? And is there any recourse we can take against the surveyor for not spotting it, or is he just going to claim that this is a new crack?

MyRealNameToo

Congrats on the purchase… your first home will be a rollercoaster of emotions for at least the first 6 months from loving it to thinking you made a terrible mistake etc.

Personally would contact the surveyor but would be less confrontational about it and take it from there.

Woodstok2000

I don't know how accurate this is, but we were told surveys would only note significant cracks. We had a similar question when we moved to our current house - surveyor told us his rule of thumb is whether you can fit a pound coin in the crack. Ours hasn't changed at all in 12 years now.

born_again

What level of survey did you pay for?

As basic will in most case just look at the value of the house.

Albermarle

Assuming you paid for a Level2 or 3 survey, then I think your first port of call is the surveyor.

At first just to ask their opinion, what might be causing it. Later you may decide to pursue it with them further.

user1977

What makes you think the cracks are material?

theartfullodger

Check neighbouring houses… for similar cracks..

There is almost always cracks, perhaps few & very small, in most buildings. I wouldn't worry (yet).

I had a late victorian/edwardian terrace in 1970s. Close to river, Mortlake, London. Every summer cracks would appear as ground dried out (V V likely very inadequate foundations). One year cracks got so big I could put my little finger in one.

Clearly had been standing for some 70 years , as had surrounding streets, so I felt a bit comfortable. Won't say what I did to make them disappear prior to sale……

During this time under Thatcher's iron fist BoE interest rates went from 10% to 17% (Check with BoE website). Young kids today have no idea….

Section62

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6652922/noticed-cracks-in-brick-on-house-we-have-just-bought

I would go back to the surveyor and ask them to comment on the crack (not why they missed it)

It isn't clear, but there are some signs the brickwork may have been partially repointed, so it is possible there was more extensive damage which has been concealed or repaired.

A crack through a brick is something to note, a crack through three courses of bricks is something that shouldn't be ignored - although being low-down on a corner like that doesn't scream 'subsidence'. I wouldn't rule out the possibility something (maybe during construction) having clipped the corner causing the bricks to fracture, and over time the fractures have opened up a bit. But it other properties have a similar defect then a bad batch of bricks is another possibility.

stuart45

Aa Section 62 said, the bed joints have been repointed. There's a downpipe close by. Dig down a bit to see how far the crack goes, and if the area is excessively wet.

darkazuria

@stuart45 Could the downpipe be the reason? I will have a look but it's been raining a lot today so will be hard to tell.
If it's the downpipe, could that have caused long term problems?

Hoping it's not going to be something that is really expensive to fix and/or affect resale of the house. 

It has all been really stressful, as it's taken such a long time to be able to save for a deposit and be able to buy our first house and with it being from the 1990s we didn't think there would be many problems with it. It's not our long term home, just getting on the ladder so hoping it won't be something too bad.

darkazuria

It isn't clear, but there are some signs the brickwork may have been partially repointed, so it is possible there was more extensive damage which has been concealed or repaired.

@Section62 Is there something we could do if it's something the seller should have disclosed?