Alarming crack...

[JK]

...no, it's not J-Lo. I've discovered a worrying crack in the party wall on the top floor of my new house. It's near to the outside wall, about

3ft long and 1-2mm wide. Goes at a steep diagonal starting about 6" from the outside wall up to about 2' from the outside wall. Looking along the outside wall, I can see that it appears to have bowed out slightly, which is I presume the cause of the crack. The bowing appears to be limited to the upper part of the wall.

Not sure how to proceed now. Just bought the place so I'm reluctant to get the insurers involved as they may well decide it started with the previous occupants and start a battle with previous insurers. Also, it's a party wall so that could make things complicated.

What could cause this, and how would it be treated? I imagine what will need to be done is one of those big metal X things on the outside wall to hold it all together. Is that an expensive job, or even a DIY job? I'm slightly tempted to plaster it up and keep an eye on it for 6 months, but that's obviously a bit risky.

Any ideas?

John

[Owain]

"JK" wrote | ...no, it's not J-Lo. I've discovered a worrying crack in the party wall | on the top floor of my new house. ... | Not sure how to proceed now. Just bought the place so I'm reluctant to | get the insurers involved as they may well decide it started with the | previous occupants and start a battle with previous insurers.

Was there such a thing as a survey?

| Also, it's a party wall so that could make things complicated. | What could cause this, and how would it be treated? I imagine what will | need to be done is one of those big metal X things on the outside wall | to hold it all together. Is that an expensive job, or even a DIY job?

You really need a structural engineer to report on the crack and the bowing and monitor it. There's no point putting a bit metal X thing on the wall if the wall isn't held together sufficiently to not fall apart, or if there isn't anything inside to tie the outside X to. An engineer will be required to satisfy Building Control and insurance companies.

| I'm slightly tempted to plaster it up and keep an eye on it for 6 | months, but that's obviously a bit risky

You could get some tell-tales / crack monitors from York Survey, stick them across the gap, and photograph them every couple of weeks for six months. The other thing you should do is to look at the wall from the neighbour's side, and preferably put tell-tales on that side too. If the crack goes right through the wall and is moving, that is a Bad Sign.

Owain

[sPoNiX]

What did your surveyor say, when he reported on the house?

Those big metal "X" things went out in Victorian times as I understand it.

iirc, "X" things were placed back and front of a property. A long metal rod was passed through the entire house and a nut placed either end. The rod was then heated ro red hot along its entire length by a number of workmen with blowtorches, while nuts were tightened either end. When the rod cooled it contracted, thus pulling the outer walls inwards.

sPoniX

[JK]

He appears not to have noticed it. To be fair on him, I did not have a full structural done, and the crack was well concealed behind a wardrobe.

[Michael Mcneil]

It beats me why people tie themselves up to the most outrageously expensive time consuming status symbol they can imagine without getting a full survey done for a few hundred quid.

Start taking evening classes in bricklaying and pin the word fool to the bottom of your mirror.

[Grunff]

Not true - they are still the preferred method for stabilising bowing walls. Not always X shaped, usually circles these days. We fitted a pair earlier this year.

[JK]

Remarkably helpful. Hope you feel better for that. I do feel a bit foolish as it happens, but at the same time I do not believe a surveyor would have seen it; my experience of them in the past has been "We were not able to inspect blah blah due to the presence of a heavy carpet" and so on.

[JK]

Not a full one, no.

That sounds like a good idea. Presumably one sets up a standard position for the camera?

From what you say though, it sounds like I'm going to have to call in the insurance company and let them deal with it.

John

[Richard Faulkner]

In message , Michael Mcneil writes

Or why people buy properties abroad without having any kind of survey done and without proper independent legal advice - incredible!!

[Sam Nelson]

Surveyors are useless. Even if a full-structural had been done, the survey would just have said `we recommend you call in [insert a specialist of the appropriate type] to investigate this further'. If, every time you look at a house you have a full-structural done and walk away from the house as a result, that's a bloody good way to end up homeless and poor, having paid out every last penny to useless surveyors.

I had a full-structural survey done on the house I live in now (built in 1827, renovated from a ruin in 1999). The surveyor (recommended by the solicitor) got the direction in which the house faces wrong by almost 180deg, and stated in writing that the loft insulation was 200mm deep when actually it was entirely absent. Neither of those were actionable---it cost me less than half the cost of the survey to insulate the loft, and it's blatantly obvious to anyone looking at it that the house faces SSW, not NNE---but it does make you wonder what else on the survey isn't worth the paper it's written on.

[John Armstrong]

Maybe they surveyed the well insulated house over the road :-)

[JK]

I've just finished reading a rather lengthy thread you started last year about this. Your 30mm cracks make my 2mm seem a bit feeble!

I'm trying to work out, as you did, why the bowing has happened. It's between the roof and the level of the top floor, with no signs of movement in the two storeys below this, so I doubt subsidence. I suspect it could be something to do with the roof, as the surveyor did spot that the roof had a slight sag as a result of someone removing one of the diagonal bracing timbers in the past. We were planning to get that done as part of a loft conversion, but perhaps it has had the effect of the roof pushing outwards on the top of the wall leading to our problem.

Anyway, general question: what would be the most sensible sequence of getting the following people involved:

Engineer Insurance Neighbour (remember, its a party wall that has cracked and the bowing is on his side too)

(Bearing in mind that we only moved in a few weeks ago, and perhaps don't want to get the insurers involved at all).

[Christian McArdle]

I think you mean a few thousand quid. A few hundred quid only barely gets you a valuation.

Christian.

[Richard Faulkner]

In message , JK writes

Engineer 1st, then if it is an insurance issue, insurance, then neighbour if necessary.

[Ed Sirett]

A full structural survey will not stop the building cracking. It might have stopped you buying a normal home with small cracks in it which is what you have.

Most buildings settle, if ground conditions are unchanged it takes about

400 years for the building to stop moving, that's the theory anyway.

If the cracks have appeared over night then it is time to start monitoring them. If/when it gets to the point where you can put a pencil in it then you will need some professional help.

Until then or if the crack is old, fill it, decorate and forget it.

HTH

If you had said: In the last month a 6mm crack has opened up in this wall. What do I do? Then you will have to contact you building insurers who will tell you to get a foundation/soil engineers' report. They may even have their own pet engineers to send out.

[Owain]

"JK" wrote | ... the crack was well concealed behind a wardrobe.

A cynical person like me might wonder if that concealment was intentional by the vendor :-)

Owain

[Owain]

"JK" wrote | I suspect it could be something to do with the roof, as the surveyor | did spot that the roof had a slight sag as a result of someone | removing one of the diagonal bracing timbers in the past.

A-ha! and Oh dear!

| We were planning to get that done as part of a loft conversion,

So you'll probably need a structural engineer to do your roof calcs anyway.

| Anyway, general question: what would be the most sensible sequence of | getting the following people involved: | Engineer | Insurance | Neighbour (remember, its a party wall that has cracked and the bowing is | on his side too)

Neighbour then engineer (engineer will need to look at both sides of wall, so amenable neighbour helpful).

| ... perhaps don't want to get the insurers involved at all).

Exactly. Especially not before you know what's what.

Owain

[Grunff]

Quite.

Yes, this can happen, and was one of the things my struct. engineer checked first.

Really depends. If you want an answer, get a structural engineer, preferably a local one familiar with local house problems.

[jacob]

I'd just ignore it if I were you. All the houses I've ever owned have had alarming cracks, bulges etc. thats why they were so cheap. They still have them and I made a big profit in the process. The last one had cockroaches but I did get rid of them. Last but one had a half collapsed roof with sagging ridge like a saddle. Its still there just the same and uncollapsed nearly 20 years later. Just check at 6 month intervals to start with, then 1 year, 5 years etc. Start panicking if there is rapid change - sound of rumbling masonry in the night for instance.

heers

jacob

[Hamie]

I had a full structural done on my place when we bought it. The damn thing was full of things like Didn't check roof because it was out of reach of their ladder. Didn't chekc loft space, ladder was too short. Didn't check floorboards because of carpet. Didn't check built-in gas heaters because they don't do that... Didn't check plumbing... geta plumber. Didn't check electrics. get an electrician.

Actually not sure what they did check in the end...