Cracks in plaster

geraint83

Hi, thanks to everyone for their views.

Doozegirl: the crack is in a wall close to a window. We're also covered by a Zurich guarantee (dug out the papers) - the house was built by a local private developer.

Also checked back on the survey that we had done and it says that there isn't any sign of subsidence at the property - also had a look outside and the cracks in the render aren't at the corner of the walls.

Misgrace: I don't think that the crack is in the brick itself, only in the plaster below the pink-coloured skim. The walls of the garage have been plastered like this (but without the skim) and there are small cracks there too - although they are in the middle of the walls so I'm guessing that it's just the wall drying out over time.


The crack I photographed actually became more prominent over recent weeks, so maybe it's related to the central heating being turned on over winter? The crack is located about 50cm away from the radiator in the room.


Anyway, I've arranged for a builder to call by tomorrow to have a look so he should be able to give us some advice. I'll let you know how it goes.

Thanks!

Doozergirl

If you genuinely think that the crack is growing over a matter of weeks then I would call Zurich. They will be helpful, they will send people qualified to comment and it will be free.

I'm not entirely sure what a builder will tell you. If he's a friend then fine, ask his opinion but I'm not sure what a random builder will tell you. If you have concerns, the best people to talk to would be your insurance co.

misgrace

Let us know how you get on,:D and I agree with dozergirl, just be careful what builder you get round, it might pay you to get a few in to check.
I probaly come across the voice of doom here lol, I dont mean too, but I have worked for building companies, and some will add on arms and legs.

BTW, this is not directed at all builders.:D

geraint83

Sorry to have taken a long time to report back!!

The builder came on Thursday - we'd actually asked him to call round because I wanted a quote to install a door to go through from the kitchen to the garage (for some reason, the house has been built without one even though they're both next to each other!). Since he was here, I showed him the cracks because if there's any problem, then it would be best to forget the door for a while!!

He took one look at the crack and said that it was nothing to worry about and that it's just the house drying out! He said that because the crack is next to the radiator, it's gotten larger over recent months because the central heating has been on. He said that we can fill the hole in ourselves with Polyfilla and that there's nothing to worry about.

I'm still going to keep the wall as it is for a while so that I can measure the crack from time to time to make sure that it doesn't get any bigger, but I'm not too worried now - the builder's been doing work for girlfriend's mother for decades so he wouldn't try and diddle me!

Thanks to everyone for their advice over the past week!

~Chameleon~

Don't use Polyfilla, get a bag of Gyproc Easy-fill - much easier to mix and apply, plus it dries fine enough to sand down to a very smooth surface, unlike Polyfilla!

geraint83

Thanks for the advice ~Chameleon~.

I won't be fixing the hole for a while just so that I can make sure that there isn't anything wrong with it but I'll look out for the Gyproc when I'm ready to fill it.