Opinion on exterior cracks

mickman

Hi Everyone

I am buying an unfinshed house that been unlived in since it was built in 2008. THe house is very dry inside it and an engineer survey was very encouraging in that he didnt see any issues or "excessive cracking"

There are cracks on the plaster on the front of the house, engineer reckons that the house wont have to go through any further winters being unkempt etc and i should just let the cracks dry out and paint in the summer should fill them up

Now i would just like other peoples opinions please as i know nothing about building

Should i get the builder to fill these when he is finishing the house for me ? Or should i just paint in the summer and see how it looks then

I have attached photos and would really appreciate any comments

Thanks in advance

sky6

The first picture looks as if a lot of moisture has got behind the plaster. Has your engineer checked to see if the plaster is still adhered to the Wall and hasn't blown anywhere. You could try tapping it yourself and if there's any hollow sound then it means it's not adhered and will require replastering at some point.
The Mortgage company Engineer is unlikely to approve it in it's present condition.
Having said that there's no reason for it to be a deal breaker.

mickman

sky6 wrote: »

The first picture looks as if a lot of moisture has got behind the plaster. Has your engineer checked to see if the plaster is still adhered to the Wall and hasn't blown anywhere. You could try tapping it yourself and if there's any hollow sound then it means it's not adhered and will require replastering at some point.
The Mortgage company Engineer is unlikely to approve it in it's present condition.
Having said that there's no reason for it to be a deal breaker.

Thanks

We have full mortgage approval, nothing pending from an engineer. This is for my own sanity but no my engineer didnt tap it to check it out, he said that let it dry out and paint would probably do but i would rather replaster the front now than having to do it next year and paint it again

What im worried about is that water will get in before we start to finish up the house in the next few months and ruin the interior plaster ? Is there any chance of that happening ? or am i being a drama queen :-).

Would it be very expensive to replaster the front face ? The rest of the house is fine.

When you say replaster at some point ? Is there a rush with this ?

sky6

If it's not blown then yes probably a seal and paint will work ok fine. If water is getting in then it's only a matter of time until it does blow. ( lose it's adhesion ). Then it will most certainly need to be replastered at some point. As once one piece of plaster comes away then water will get in behind the next piece and so it goes on.
If I were you I'd get a good trained Plasterer to look at it for you and make a recommendation. I'd be guided by his recommendation as he would have come across similar situations in the past.
you might even get away with cutting out the cracked areas to a width of 12 inches and replaster them once fully dry.
To answer your question as to cost to re plaster the whole front of the house. I would say less than a 1000 Euro.
That includes stripping the plaster back off the wall first. Then 2 to 3 days for a plasterer and helper to replaster it again. You might be able to negotiate all or some of the cost with the seller.

mickman

This is a house from a receiver so its an "as it is " basis but i have no issues paying for the work .I just want to know if its best to do it now before it gets painted rather than paint it now and end up having to plaster again next year and paint again so yes i will discuss with a plasterer

I wont be able to get works done on this until May i would say so is there any danger of anything happening in that time frame ? I mean is there any danger of water getting all the way in and damaging the internal plaster and creating a massive job between now and then ?

RORY O CONNOR

looking at the pictures there is what I call the Giraffe skin pattern present-that's not what its called in the trade-just my name for it.

This is typically due to poor rendering-either the plaster was not applied properly-proper layers- or the render has dried out and shrunk too quickly, thus you get the pattern of cracking. It need not be detrimental.

As mentioned before if it has not de-bonded from the block walls you might be OK or localized repairs might be required. Wait till springtime as then the air will be warm but not hot so that any new plastering will not dry out too quickly. At least its not coloured render which can be impossible to match when making repairs.

mickman

RORY O CONNOR wrote: »

looking at the pictures there is what I call the Giraffe skin pattern present-that's not what its called in the trade-just my name for it.

This is typically due to poor rendering-either the plaster was not applied properly-proper layers- or the render has dried out and shrunk too quickly, thus you get the pattern of cracking. It need not be detrimental.

As mentioned before if it has not de-bonded from the block walls you might be OK or localized repairs might be required. Wait till springtime as then the air will be warm but not hot so that any new plastering will not dry out too quickly. At least its not coloured render which can be impossible to match when making repairs.

Thanks Rory

There is no danger of anything happening in the meantime , water flooding in and ruining the house :-) ?

dhog4n

If it is of traditional construction, the cavity between the inner and outer leaves of blockwork should prevent any moisture from reaching the inside of the house. Timber framed construction includes a membrane that prevents moisture reaching the timber structure or the inside of the house.

If nothing is showing internally in the current weather conditions after several years lying empty (and unheated) then it is unlikely to occur in the future.

mickman

dhog4n wrote: »

If it is of traditional construction, the cavity between the inner and outer leaves of blockwork should prevent any moisture from reaching the inside of the house. Timber framed construction includes a membrane that prevents moisture reaching the timber structure or the inside of the house.

If nothing is showing internally in the current weather conditions after several years lying empty (and unheated) then it is unlikely to occur in the future.

Thanks. It's a timber frame house

kkelliher

mickman wrote: »

Hi Everyone

I am buying an unfinshed house that been unlived in since it was built in 2008. THe house is very dry inside it and an engineer survey was very encouraging in that he didnt see any issues or "excessive cracking"

There are cracks on the plaster on the front of the house, engineer reckons that the house wont have to go through any further winters being unkempt etc and i should just let the cracks dry out and paint in the summer should fill them up

Now i would just like other peoples opinions please as i know nothing about building

Should i get the builder to fill these when he is finishing the house for me ? Or should i just paint in the summer and see how it looks then

I have attached photos and would really appreciate any comments

Thanks in advance

A word of both warning and caution, Boards is not a place to get engineering advice. A picture cannot always show the full extent of any issue. If you are intending to purchase any property you should have the property fully inspected by an Engineer/Building Surveyor and get detailed advice on any issues.

mickman

kkelliher wrote: »

A word of both warning and caution, Boards is not a place to get engineering advice. A picture cannot always show the full extent of any issue. If you are intending to purchase any property you should have the property fully inspected by an Engineer/Building Surveyor and get detailed advice on any issues.

Yep agree.just looking for opinions is all