Wall Crack Severity Thoughts

[relicalpha]

Hey,

Looking at a house to buy that was renovated several years ago, with the following, unmissable, wall crack between a downstairs lintel and upstairs window.
Would this put you off buying? Or could a structural engineer survey tell me it's just an old settlement crack (with certainty?). If it was I guess you could just remove the render, repoint and re-render to hide it longer term?

Really like this house otherwise so it's judging on how much assurance I can get this is a non-issue, or if it's the kind of thing that needs monitoring for 6 months to see if it moves?

I'm sure a standard structural survey will just tell me it's a risk and to get an expert...



Thanks!

 

[vail3r]

Yeah a standard survey would just highlight it and tell you to get specialist advise.

Personally that wouldn't put me off. I'd be more worried about having to try and patch the render

 

[relicalpha]

Yeah a standard survey would just highlight it and tell you to get specialist advise.

Personally that wouldn't put me off. I'd be more worried about having to try and patch the render

Thanks, agreed. Clearly they have attempted to paint/hide it at some point badly. I guess you'd have to remove a large square section of render, or just do it and repaint the entire wall

Is render even paintable, or is the colour mixed into the render itself?

 

[thebandit]

Personally this would not put me off, its a very small crack, houses move. I can't see from the picture the age of the building so its hard to guess the foundation type its sat on, but as the ground swells with water its causes minor cracking on houses. side note, my brother in law had his basement converted and his house moved a lot and a number of very large cracks appeared, the structural engineer surveying told him the only time you need to be concerned is if you can fit a fist in it.
I would be more concerned over the render itself, if this was part of the reno and why this was done (I dislike retrospective rendering, i question what its covering up, also, the render could actually casue damp isues if water vapour is trapped behind it depending of on the wall construction type). Thinking about it, it could be water trapped behind the render from the window sill thats the cause of the crack in the first place.

 

[Kill_Phil]

Yup wouldn't be too put off, but get a structural survey for peace of mind especially if really want the house.

Could also ask the owners. That lintel doesn't look too old in grand scheme of things

 

[relicalpha]

Thanks, yes this was a full 2015 renovation of an older cottage, think the lintels would have been changed then as well. I'll hope it's settlement only and crack on I guess

 

[radderfire]

Is render even paintable, or is the colour mixed into the render itself?

Yes, it's usually sand and cement based so it's paintable.

The crack doesn't look too bad, but it might concern me more if the house was in an area known for underground mine workings, in which case more serious investigation might be required.