Expansion joint query

shakeydude

Hi,

I have a house where there is an expansion joint in the block work. I can only see the joint from the outside and I am assuming that the internal joint is behind an internal partition. The plasterwork on the inside has cracked as I was expecting and now that the house has been lived in for over a year I was going to plaster over the cracks and I was wondering if there are any implications in this????

Also, should the joint pass through the entire section of the house, by that I mean in the up the wall, through the roof and then down the other wall????

If anyone has a handy on-line resource on expansion joints I would be grateful if you could send them on.

Thanks,

Shakeydude

Mellor

The cracks are common, caused by settlement. Completely unavoidable.
Give it a few months, then patch them up.
Expansion joints aren't needed in the roof. This is because its not rigid. Timber allows more movement than blocks, plus the slates have some allowance for movement. A good resource for this stuff is the homebond manual. Not sure about an online resource

shakeydude

Mellor,

Thanks for the input, all good stuff. I have the homebond manual I will give it a look

Shakeydude

RKQ

Expansion joints are very important, especially in block work and large floor tiled areas. Ensure they exist and are correctly installed.

shakeydude

From looking at the joint from the outside they appear to have done a good job. I have seen jobs where the joint is so uneven that is asking for trouble. There is no ingress of water and the cracking is by the joint so it looks like it is doing the job.

Shakeydude