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- 11 Dec 2022
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Hi all,
Just looking for a bit of advice. Moved into our home in February 2023, we had a couple of concerns with cracked ceilings which we highlighted before instructing a Level 2 RICS survey, I know in hindsight we should have had a level 3... The survey came back rather positive with a mention of historic structural movement with no signs of subsidence spiel. They noted due to the nature of the subsoil (all heavy clay around here), that seasonal movement was to be expected. The only thing to note was we have a 35 foot Eucalyptus at the back of our garden roughly 9m from the house and this should be pruned. A coal mining search showed that the under the estate seams had been mined at depths of 150 - 200m below the surface, to people who live in our lovely area its difficult to find houses that arn't above mined areas in the past so this is extremely common.
Background to the house it's a 1970's build with a mix of thermalites and clinker blocks on internal skins, a brick external skin with a section at the front that appears to be thermalites with a stone tile veneer/clad. The front of the house is South facing and soaks up a lot of sun.
When we moved in I discovered a large crack on the bedroom wall. After hacking off the plaster it showed to go through the Thermalite block vertically, following the mortar line that separated the thermalite block from the blocks used on the built-in flue. This wall is the party wall between us and our joined neighbours, this is the worst crack we found and it measured 3mm at its widest. I haven't yet uploaded this photo as it's on an old phone I need to dig out. We had our family member over who is a builder, who has had a lot of past experience dealing with subsidence and structural issues. His opinion was it was typical of thermalites to crack, the heat from the flue or escaping gases could have caused this and he wouldnt worry about it and to dot and dab over it. He went around the rest of the house to look at my other concerns and said it looks quite typical of 70's build and bonding is losing key and shrinkage cracks in the thermalites could be causing cracks elsewhere and it just looks neglected cosmetically and needs updating. I could not take his word for it and it only offered me temporary relief.
The floors throughout the house are uneven with gaps between 5-10mm under skirting boards (although these boards look like the original ones). Under the carpet in the living room is vinyl tiles directly over a bitumen like substance. The floor is covered in dents again we were told these were probably from early softness of the bitumen and were from furniture feet sinking in, again apparantly common. The floor as a whole dips down where there was once a fireplace.
We also had a drain survey done of which the company said they werent concerned with any of the drains. The only thing they noted was that the drains were full of gravel that had washed down from the carport roof over the years. They mentioned some displacement of the clay pipes but were not concerned, but surely the displacement could be causing excess water in the ground?
Cracking externally is limited to the south facing front of the house. Below the front window in the mortar I have been monitoring over the last 12 months and has not changed at all. The cracks in the stone veneer mortar seemed to appear last year after we removed the plaster/bonding from the bedroom, an sds drill with a chisel bit was used to try and speed up the process and weve been told this could be the cause of this. The porch crack in the corner has been on google maps for the past 10 years and judging by a chip out of the brick looks like its been hit by a car in the past, however the hairline stair crack down to it seems to have appeared recently.
None of the rest of my family, partner included are concerned in the slightest. I, on the other hand had to go through CBT therapy and medication I was so obsessed with the cracks in the house and it caused a massive strain on mine and my families lives. My anxiety has calmed down over the last 6 months but as more and more hairline cracks appear I can't help but feel the anxiety bubble up again.
Please see the link below to a folder full of photos named with where they are in the house. There are more hairline cracks all over the place but are difficult to photo. I'm at a loss on what to do and need some advice before instructing someone as I feel completely alone in my concerns.
Cracks Folder
Just looking for a bit of advice. Moved into our home in February 2023, we had a couple of concerns with cracked ceilings which we highlighted before instructing a Level 2 RICS survey, I know in hindsight we should have had a level 3... The survey came back rather positive with a mention of historic structural movement with no signs of subsidence spiel. They noted due to the nature of the subsoil (all heavy clay around here), that seasonal movement was to be expected. The only thing to note was we have a 35 foot Eucalyptus at the back of our garden roughly 9m from the house and this should be pruned. A coal mining search showed that the under the estate seams had been mined at depths of 150 - 200m below the surface, to people who live in our lovely area its difficult to find houses that arn't above mined areas in the past so this is extremely common.
Background to the house it's a 1970's build with a mix of thermalites and clinker blocks on internal skins, a brick external skin with a section at the front that appears to be thermalites with a stone tile veneer/clad. The front of the house is South facing and soaks up a lot of sun.
When we moved in I discovered a large crack on the bedroom wall. After hacking off the plaster it showed to go through the Thermalite block vertically, following the mortar line that separated the thermalite block from the blocks used on the built-in flue. This wall is the party wall between us and our joined neighbours, this is the worst crack we found and it measured 3mm at its widest. I haven't yet uploaded this photo as it's on an old phone I need to dig out. We had our family member over who is a builder, who has had a lot of past experience dealing with subsidence and structural issues. His opinion was it was typical of thermalites to crack, the heat from the flue or escaping gases could have caused this and he wouldnt worry about it and to dot and dab over it. He went around the rest of the house to look at my other concerns and said it looks quite typical of 70's build and bonding is losing key and shrinkage cracks in the thermalites could be causing cracks elsewhere and it just looks neglected cosmetically and needs updating. I could not take his word for it and it only offered me temporary relief.
The floors throughout the house are uneven with gaps between 5-10mm under skirting boards (although these boards look like the original ones). Under the carpet in the living room is vinyl tiles directly over a bitumen like substance. The floor is covered in dents again we were told these were probably from early softness of the bitumen and were from furniture feet sinking in, again apparantly common. The floor as a whole dips down where there was once a fireplace.
We also had a drain survey done of which the company said they werent concerned with any of the drains. The only thing they noted was that the drains were full of gravel that had washed down from the carport roof over the years. They mentioned some displacement of the clay pipes but were not concerned, but surely the displacement could be causing excess water in the ground?
Cracking externally is limited to the south facing front of the house. Below the front window in the mortar I have been monitoring over the last 12 months and has not changed at all. The cracks in the stone veneer mortar seemed to appear last year after we removed the plaster/bonding from the bedroom, an sds drill with a chisel bit was used to try and speed up the process and weve been told this could be the cause of this. The porch crack in the corner has been on google maps for the past 10 years and judging by a chip out of the brick looks like its been hit by a car in the past, however the hairline stair crack down to it seems to have appeared recently.
None of the rest of my family, partner included are concerned in the slightest. I, on the other hand had to go through CBT therapy and medication I was so obsessed with the cracks in the house and it caused a massive strain on mine and my families lives. My anxiety has calmed down over the last 6 months but as more and more hairline cracks appear I can't help but feel the anxiety bubble up again.
Please see the link below to a folder full of photos named with where they are in the house. There are more hairline cracks all over the place but are difficult to photo. I'm at a loss on what to do and need some advice before instructing someone as I feel completely alone in my concerns.
Cracks Folder
