Interested in buying first house - are hairline cracks on the walls something to be worried about?

proteinbee

proteinbee

proteinbee

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22 Feb 2020
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Hi

I've found a house I want to buy as my first purchase. It was built in the 1920s but refurbished around 2012. Everything looks good, however many of the walls (both upstairs and downstairs) have long hairline cracks on them, such as the below

Is this something to be concerned about? The estate agent is assuring me these are 'plaster shrinkage', and they are purely aesthetic/nothing to worry about.

Just wanted to get another opinion. Do these indicate a structural issue? Should I not go ahead with the purchase? Many of the walls have these hairline cracks..

Thanks

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Get a survey no one on the Internet can answer that question with anything but guesswork nor can the estate agent. If you like the house £300 is a small price to pay for peace of mind.
 
That particular crack wouldn't bother me, but I wouldn't buy a 100 year old house without a structural survey
 
That’s quite bad and definitely more than plaster shrinkage. The crack line runs continuously up the wall and along the ceiling but those are two separate pieces of plaster that wouldn’t crack together like that. Get a proper survey done and check for ground instability / underpinning work - ask the surveyor to specifically look for it when you appoint them.
 
As others have said, get a survey done. It costs money but could save you from making a purchase of a dud house that will then cost you a fortune to put right.
 
It's not plaster shrinkage but it wouldn't bother me in a 100 years old British house. There is no structural issue that would result in a hairline crack across the wall and ceiling like that. Moving walls wouldn't crack plasterboard ceiling, moving joists wouldn't crack the wall. Most likely they were cheap and either plastered on top of previous skim which is bubbling off the brick wall underneath (knocking on it would have that characteristic boxy sound) or they plasterboarded under the stairs with cut offs and without any jointing tape. In either case - you'll have ef loads of things like that around any 100+ English house.
 
Hmm where’s the best place to ask about a possible structural defect on my first house? I know! Let’s ask on a computer forum! Bound to be loads of knowledgeable people there!
 
MissChief said:
Hmm where’s the best place to ask about a possible structural defect on my first house? I know! Let’s ask on a computer forum! Bound to be loads of knowledgeable people there!
Click to expand...

I agree, probably the most diverse backgrounds and knowledge base I've ever found.
 
Shoza said:
That’s quite bad and definitely more than plaster shrinkage. The crack line runs continuously up the wall and along the ceiling but those are two separate pieces of plaster that wouldn’t crack together like that. Get a proper survey done and check for ground instability / underpinning work - ask the surveyor to specifically look for it when you appoint them.
Click to expand...

Agree with this. For shrinkage you tend to see it follow the board edges and be in straight lines. Something moving diagonally and from one surface to another tends to indicate structural movement.
 
Every old house I’ve ever been in is covered in cracks anywhere that wasn’t decorated last week especially when modern building techniques are used. Nobody noticed it years ago as it was under the wall paper! That crack wouldn’t bother me but if you are worried gets survey.
 
The general consensus is to be concerned if you can fit a penny coin in the gap. But as others have said, i wouldn't buy an old house like that without having a full structural survey done. It's such a small cost compared to the overall price of the house.
 
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