Big Crack... What Would Be The Cause

anneo

Hi There,
Can anyone tell me what they think may have caused this large crack which is nearly half way down the upstairs bedroom window.
There is no sign of it outside the window, it goes over to the corner and a hairline crack continues on the side wall which is attached to the house next door. Its a horizontal crack leading to nowhere exactly.
I am going to try attach a picture.

Any ideas please, will be greatfully recieved.

Thanks

FesterBeatty

You need a structural engineer and you will not find the answer on an internet forum.

anneo

Thanks, but i am just seeing what people might think before I go spending money on a survey. Im not a complete wally.

sinnerboy

Please send some more pics to put the crack in context.

anneo

sinnerboy wrote: »

Please send some more pics to put the crack in context.

Hi,
Sorry thats the only pic i took, its a house i viewed that was thinking of buying and would def get survey done but wanted an idea first what others thought.
If there is any question that might help I can try answer as best i can.

Replies appricated

Rhys Essien

Looks like a pretty severe crack.

anneo

A great drawing.....! done by me to explain by picture.
Thanks

mickdw

That is a severe crack. Certainly something moving there.

How old is the house?
Is this a single or 2 storey house? What floor is the crack on?
Any alteration made to the roof to provide accomodation or was there a new roof fitted?
Any major works carried out next door?

FesterBeatty

If you're only thinking about buying then look somewhere else and forget about it. I'm a structural engineer myself, but would you buy a car off me with a large visible split in the engine block - even if I told you it could be fixed?

Everything can be resolved, but why bother with this one. Look at a different house.

anneo

mickdw wrote: »

That is a severe crack. Certainly something moving there.

How old is the house? Around 30 yrs old.

Is this a single or 2 storey house? What floor is the crack on? Two storey house with crack upstairs on first floor.

Any alteration made to the roof to provide accomodation or was there a new roof fitted? No I am nearly 100% sure no alterations made.

Any major works carried out next door? I dont think so no.

Also there looks to have been a wall dividing the room below takin out, but I would think it was done years ago. I know this house has been empty for quite a while and had burst pipes etc and no heating on in all the frosty weather. could this have started the crack ?
And I know it might seem silly but the front door is extremely hard to close due to the lock being stiff and it has to be banged hard to close could this affect the crack spreading.

Thanks

mickdw

anneo wrote: »

mickdw wrote: »

That is a severe crack. Certainly something moving there.

How old is the house? Around 30 yrs old.

Is this a single or 2 storey house? What floor is the crack on? Two storey house with crack upstairs on first floor.

Any alteration made to the roof to provide accomodation or was there a new roof fitted? No I am nearly 100% sure no alterations made.

Any major works carried out next door? I dont think so no.

Also there looks to have been a wall dividing the room below takin out, but I would think it was done years ago. I know this house has been empty for quite a while and had burst pipes etc and no heating on in all the frosty weather. could this have started the crack ?
And I know it might seem silly but the front door is extremely hard to close due to the lock being stiff and it has to be banged hard to close could this affect the crack spreading.

Thanks

Depending on what was done downstairs when taking out the dividing wall, it is possible too much loading has been put into the wall at 1st floor level below the area of this crack. It is certainly a structural defect. Im an Engineer and Im going to agree with festerbeatty and say look for something else.
There really is no argument to be made for buying into a structurally defective property unless the defect is very much reflected in the purchase price. Given that this property is attached to another, a give away price wouldnt convince me to buy as you really can be walking into a nightmare with all sorts of legal issues

martin46585

anneo wrote: »

Hi There,
Can anyone tell me what they think may have caused this large crack which is nearly half way down the upstairs bedroom window.
There is no sign of it outside the window, it goes over to the corner and a hairline crack continues on the side wall which is attached to the house next door. Its a horizontal crack leading to nowhere exactly.
I am going to try attach a picture.

Any ideas please, will be greatfully recieved.

Thanks

if you still have access to the property, you could try holding a straight edge in a vertical position, to see if the top five row of blocks are leaning outward, which it looks like it is from the photo, if so the roof, which is probably heavy concrete tiles is pushing downwards and in turn putting outward pressure on the out side walls, this may answer your question on the cause, and the solution wasin the above posts re; fb, mdw, look at something with less baggage.....................

anneo

Hey all,
thanks for all the replies................... no in persuit of a new house with no cracks
Thanks
Again

sydthebeat

looks like a problem caused by a hip roof... too much weight and not enough tying.

antiskeptic

Gosh!

Given how easy it would be to render this fatal flaw invisible with a neat repair n' repaint job.

A reminder to have eyes in the back of your head come house purchase time.

sydthebeat

antiskeptic wrote: »

Gosh!

Given how easy it would be to render this fatal flaw invisible with a neat repair n' repaint job.

A reminder to have eyes in the back of your head come house purchase time.

reminder to get a proper qualifed survey prior to purchase!!

antiskeptic

sydthebeat wrote: »

reminder to get a proper qualifed survey prior to purchase!!

Do you suppose even such a one would spot this - if concealed well?

sydthebeat

maybe, maybe not..... but they are being paid to.

but it may lead to a fall back position if the worst happens.