Cracks and mould in new house

Adam · 20 May 2013 at 13:31

I'm in the process of moving, early days so far and I am yet to have a survey. One area of concern are the following cracks in the house. The first picture is in the kitchen on the ground floor:

http://i550.photobucket.com/albums/ii434/MadaCup/IMG_5868-2_zpsb63fce50.jpg

Ignore the bodge job on the right hand side with the wood, we'll replace that with plaster.

The next set of cracks are on the wall which had a conservatory added in the past 5 or so years:

http://i550.photobucket.com/albums/ii434/MadaCup/IMG_5917-2_zpsa49a431d.jpg

The final set of cracks are in the bedroom, on the wall shared with the en suite.

http://i550.photobucket.com/albums/ii434/MadaCup/IMG_5890-2_zps551a7fe8.jpg

Are any of these any concern? Probably hard to say but you can't fit a coin in them, I'm thinking they are purely cosmetic and the current owners have just been lazy but it would be good to seek further opinions ahead of the hom******s report.

Also, we noticed some nasty mould in the main bedroom (which shares the room with the ensuite) and I can't work out if the mould is coming from outside or is caused by poor ventilation from the en suite (currently no extractor fan).

http://i550.photobucket.com/albums/ii434/MadaCup/IMG_5888-2_zps616c2833.jpg

Windle · 20 May 2013 at 13:40

What is the construction of the house and how old? This will determine whether or not the cracks are potentially concerning, cracks like that are common on plaster in new builds (wood frame, brick clad) due to the drying out of the wooden structure but in a stone structure are potentially of more interest/concern.

The damp looks like condensation mould due to insufficient ventilation, if there's nothing of concern at the exterior of the property, just look at getting vents fitted to the windows to ensure a fresh air flow.

ci_newman · 20 May 2013 at 13:42

The mould looks like it's from condensation, but with those cracks I would have gone for a full structural survey rather than just a home buyers report. That one in the kitchen would worry me, what have they hidden behind that piece of wood screwed to the wall?

Adam · 20 May 2013 at 14:27

So some more information, the house was built circa 1995 but I'm not sure if it's a timber frame. The outer walls are solid brick rather than plasterboard but I'm not sure beyond this.

The boiler was replaced around 6 years ago, I stuck my head underneath and it looks like they needed access to it. There wasn't any signs of anything wrong, just bodged back together. The house is pretty dirty and knocked about so we need to spend time and money on it but we are comfortable doing so. Should be decent once we have finished.

As for the mould, I stuck my hand above the window outside and everything felt fine. There wasn't any damp or gaps so I'm hoping an extractor fan and better ventilation would fix it.

Nightglow · 20 May 2013 at 15:08

Mould is nothing more than condensation.

But, those cracks concern me, those internal walls are block, not timber framed, they are more than settlement cracks in my opinion.
The only crack which isn't too bad,is the one on the wall shared with the en suite, that wall is it plasterboard by any chance?

I would have had a full structural survey done, NOT relied on a home buyer's report.

Do you have any cracks on the exterior brickwork?
Any cracks on the floors, or at base or corner of interior walls?

Adam · 20 May 2013 at 15:34

So there are no cracks outside, we had a good look around the property once we saw the cracks inside and couldn't see anything other than the visible cracks I took the pictures of at the top of the walls.

What else can I check when I next visit? The reason I went for the hom****** report is that my lender doesn't offer one, we would need to commission our own one on top of what we would already be paying for. We haven't exchanged yet.

Hagar · 20 May 2013 at 16:32

Has the house had new windows fitted?

Some houses of that vintage originally had timber frames which were built in as the house progressed. Replacement UPVC may not have the same vertical strut stiffness and some slight additional deflection of the lintels above openings could have led to additional (non structural) cracks. The slope and alignment of the (horizontal) cracking lends itself to this theory. Similarly with Patio doors.

The external wall at the conservatory may have dried out since it's construction.

Check external elevations for signs of cracking and the following extract shows crack width severity.

http://www.residentsline.co.uk/pdf_files/Cracks.pdf

You will need an extractor fan in the ensuite.

In all probability and I am not a surveyor but an engineer, the cracking is largely cosmetic.

Have any local large trees been removed (or planted) recently?

The location and the likely risks due to clay heave or subsidence are one hazard I am not considering. A pair of binoculars and careful observation of the adjacent properties may reassure you or not.

Tony Williams · 22 May 2013 at 12:15

After house fire, all the water caused a lot of damp and mold. We had it CLEANED then fans and dehumids - mould aint cleaned then it ends up bad. They used ssome chemical.

Store sells mold removal.. Had luck with h peroxide too.