House viewing (cracks in plaster)

Mr Joshua · 12 Jan 2017 at 18:42

I've been to look at a 3 bed semi recently and whilst I quite like the house it isn't without its problems.

The house has been on the market for approximately 18 months with nobody living there for that time. It's a 1940s brick built council house, inside feels really sturdy with no signs of damp.

One of the problems is the walls and ceilings have lots of small but quite long cracks in the plaster. This seems to be spread throughout the property though not in every room.

I know nobody can give a definitive answer but what could be the cause of these?

Other issues are the slates have been sprayed with expanding foam in the loft, apparently this can cause problems and hid leaks etc. A few of the windows have been bodged with plasterboard around the aperture which now conceals about half of the window frame and looks terrible.

Matt-Page · 12 Jan 2017 at 19:10

Don't risk researching this yourself. Get a proper qualified surveyor in to assess the property and outline any issues. You will receive a verbal conversation and then a detailed report will follow. With that report you can approach local tradesman to ask their opinion and quote for the work.

Essentially if it's got issues and has been on the market for a long time, there's got to be something wrong or the price is way too high. The survey will cost money, but if you are serious about it, it could save you in the future.

Got any pics of the property on Right move?

wedrum · 12 Jan 2017 at 19:11

me personally would find another house.
18 months is a long time.

Kenai · 12 Jan 2017 at 19:14

Probably just caused by mild natural settlement and nothing to particularly worry about but equally could be early signs of massive subsidence problems that will render the property virtually unmortgagable and uninsurable.

You need a professional to properly survey and assess this to find out which end of the scale it might be.

Personally, i'd just not bother and find somewhere with fewer issues.

SPG · 12 Jan 2017 at 19:26

Plaster does crack if its old, if the house has been stood for a while, get a survey as suggested.

I guess its over priced a little and needs lots of DIY.

v0n · 12 Jan 2017 at 19:29

Majority of 1930-1950 properties were built on rubbish, literally - few layers of badly compacted rubble mixed with soil and very shallow foundations. All the council built houses from that era are moving slightly with weather and time. Obviously - as others said - if you are serious about property only surveyor can tell you if it has serious problem or not - but cracks in walls - all the council houses will have something cracked, hairlined, rebarred somewhere. If they don't it only means they were already patched up and fixed.

Don't worry about cosmetics - like windows, doors, frames and window surrounds - it's a fixer upper - you will be replacing them anyway - 3-5 grand to do it properly to modern standards - you'll never look back again.

Stretch · 12 Jan 2017 at 19:47

Where is the house?

My house was built in the 30s. All the ceilings have hairline cracks in. It's plaster and lath, and that just what it does over time. You can repair it if you have the time, or you can just board and skim over the top.

Cracks in the walls around doorways are also very common. Where are they in the house?

SPG · 12 Jan 2017 at 19:47

You will also be getting a much nicer house when its done

Bigger rooms and a decent garden I would imagine.

Better this than a modern day new build (70s onwards) unless you are paying top dollar... ka ching.

Older houses are the way forward IMO, ok you will lack some thermal efficiency but wack a decent sized log burner in and hey presto it doesnt really matter

Mr.Stu · 12 Jan 2017 at 22:51

We moved in to a 1930s semi and had the entire place re-skimmed about 2 years ago, since then we've had hairline cracks appear in several rooms. Not sure what causes it, perhaps temperature change or did not leave to dry fully. Macca will be along shortly to tell me its nothing to worry about, or that our house is about to fall down

Siliconslave · 13 Jan 2017 at 08:08

I'd be wary of the roof as well - fixing a slate roof is pretty expensive and the foam stuff can be done as a bodge, but ultimately it'll just make the future repair much more expensive.
If you're going to go any further with it i'd get a roofer or three out to check it over and quote you for any work that needs doing. A re-roof on a slate two bed semi in surrey was coming in at 10k about 8years ago, but 4/5 roofers we got to check it said it'd be fine.

(Interestingly its only about 3-4k for a 5 bed pantile roof in norfolk, apparently they are much quicker and easier to work with!)

edscdk · 13 Jan 2017 at 08:13

wedrum said:
me personally would find another house.
18 months is a long time.

people don't seems to understand houses can be priced too high, almost no one seems to grasp this...

put it on the market for 50p and it will sell tomorrow... people understand that's too cheap, almost no one grasps that the opposite is true as well (too expensive and no one wants it)... Ok I'm assuming the agent actually tried to sell / advertise it...

Also to the OP just apply more thermal paste, or get a professional surveyor to look (probably the latter is better)

Participant · 13 Jan 2017 at 08:54

Mr.Stu said:
We moved in to a 1930s semi and had the entire place re-skimmed about 2 years ago, since then we've had hairline cracks appear in several rooms. Not sure what causes it, perhaps temperature change or did not leave to dry fully. Macca will be along shortly to tell me its nothing to worry about, or that our house is about to fall down

Skimming blown plaster is a waste of time as the base coat continues to loosen and will therefore crack the skim.

Overboard or back to brick.

OP - if you're going to disregard this house because it has maintenance requirements then you may as well start looking for a new build straight away. It all comes down to the price. All of this could be sorted for say £20k, so if the house is £20k sub-market value then it's still worth proceeding.

Mark M · 13 Jan 2017 at 10:46

As the majority have said get a professional in to assess the situation. If its structually sound then just rip down all of the plaster and ceilings and start with a blank canvas. Make sure you get an asbestos test done first or as part of the sales process as it might work in your favour to knock the price down.

Mr Joshua · 13 Jan 2017 at 19:17

Cheers for the responses.

A survey would definitely be on the cards before things proceeded too far. I don't mind doing a bit of work myself and speaking to a neighbour she hasn't had any problems with her house. I'm looking around Durham, it's on for 50k.