franky
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posted on 12/10/11 at 08:44 PM |
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Anyone know anything about cracks in bricks? With pics!
I've a wall on the house that use to be the coal house/outside toilet, its been joined onto the rest of the property with an extension.
I've a crack in a straight line about 6 ft long that goes straight through the middle of some bricks. Its been there for the 5 years i've
been in the house and hasn't got any bigger. It starts 3 courses above the floor, its very thin and constant in width(2mm tops) for its whole
length.
I'm now selling and i've got to get a structural engineer for my buyers mortgage company to have a look at it.
Obviously i'm a little worried at what they might say
I'm guessing when they dug out for foundations to go next to it, it moved a little. However its not got any bigger. Its a none load bearing
wall.
Any structural engineers/experienced builders about that could help? It wasn't flagged as a problem when I bought the house however i've
been informed that mortgage companies are very very fussy at the moment.
Any other ideas to what could have caused it?
Sorry if i've babbled a little.
[Edited on 13/10/11 by franky]
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r1bob
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posted on 12/10/11 at 09:06 PM |
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can you upload some pic's,
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JoelP
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posted on 12/10/11 at 09:10 PM |
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mortar too hard i believe. Ideally, when the wall settles then the mortar should break, not the bricks. Then you just repoint it and its as good as
new.
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franky
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posted on 12/10/11 at 09:28 PM |
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quote: Originally posted by r1bob
can you upload some pic's,
Will do in the morning
I can't just repair it now as it came up when my buyers mortgage company did a survey.
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jossey
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posted on 13/10/11 at 07:40 AM |
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render it so its not spottable
Thanks
David Johnson
Building my tiger avon slowly but surely.
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franky
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posted on 13/10/11 at 07:47 AM |
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quote: Originally posted by jossey
render it so its not spottable
As above, its already been 'spotted'!
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franky
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posted on 13/10/11 at 08:35 AM |
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This pic shows the area, you can see where the new brickwork is......
This pic shows the exact area of the crack, the outside tap does come out directly in the middle of it.....
This is a close up of the crack....
It starts at about 3 bricks up from the outside floor level, constant width.
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Peteff
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posted on 13/10/11 at 08:51 AM |
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Demolish the coal house/cludge so it doesn't come into the equation. It was probably caused by tying it into the new building so one end is
supported and the other has dropped breaking it's back a little. It is technically load bearing as it holds the roof up. As it was originally
not part of the house I think it is a bit picky but it is their money.
yours, Pete
I went into the RSPCA office the other day. It was so small you could hardly swing a cat in there.
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franky
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posted on 13/10/11 at 08:57 AM |
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quote: Originally posted by Peteff
Demolish the coal house/cludge so it doesn't come into the equation. It was probably caused by tying it into the new building so one end is
supported and the other has dropped breaking it's back a little. It is technically load bearing as it holds the roof up. As it was originally
not part of the house I think it is a bit picky but it is their money.
Urm its now got rooms on the other side so I can't just knock it down.
Its just the guy who did the survey wanted a 'proper' surveyor to have a look before they'll issue a mortgage. As you said being
very picky.
Its got a flat roof on that part.
So do you think i'll have anything to worry about? All I need him to state is that its an 'historic' crack and the jobs a good un.
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tegwin
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posted on 13/10/11 at 10:23 AM |
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Thats not a crack...
If you cant get a fist in it... its not worth worrying about :p
[Edited on 13/10/11 by tegwin]
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Would the last person who leaves the country please switch off the lights and close the door!
www.verticalhorizonsmedia.tv
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franky
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posted on 13/10/11 at 10:43 AM |
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quote: Originally posted by tegwin
Thats not a crack...
If you cant get a fist in it... its not worth worrying about :p
[Edited on 13/10/11 by tegwin]
Lets hope the surveyor thinks the same.
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Ivan
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posted on 13/10/11 at 11:28 AM |
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I tend to agree that it is very minor and constitutes no serious structural risk - the only serious problem would be if it continued to widen
significantly or if it was on the weather side and led to rain water penetration leading to indoor dampness.
But then I am not a specialist structural inspector/engineer and don't know what their pass and fail limits are.
[Edited on 13/10/11 by Ivan]
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JoelP
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posted on 13/10/11 at 11:39 AM |
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id agree thats nothing at all, of course two totally separate buildings are going to protest slightly if joined together. As i said, the mortar should
have had a touch more sand in it, then the bricks wouldnt have broken and you could easily repointed it to make weathertight again.
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steve m
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posted on 13/10/11 at 12:20 PM |
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Leave a step ladder leaning against it, or anything that the surverer wont move, as the guys i had round here were to lazy to even open doors, who
both said it was a 3 bedroom house, yet it has always been a proper 4 double rooms house
Steve
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Guinness
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posted on 13/10/11 at 05:48 PM |
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Must be a very heavy hose pipe.
In all seriousness though, I wouldn't be overly concerned with that. Absolute worst case (IMHO) would be to remove the mortar from a few
courses, insert some helical ties and then mortar back up.
Google brick stitching or helical ties.
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franky
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posted on 13/10/11 at 06:15 PM |
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Had a proper surveyor round today, nothing to worry about
He was saying even less houses are being sold at the minute he's busier than ever as mortgage companies are being very picky and very strict
about everything.
So if you are selling get it sorted ASAP!
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