Cracks in brickwork - Subsidence?

N

newman12

Joined
10 Oct 2023
Messages
9
Reaction score
0
Country
United Kingdom
Hello,

I've had my house about 5 years now, I did notice these cracks but nothing showed up in the report but now I'm starting to get quite worried about them. They've not gotten worse from what I can see and I can't see any cracks internally (Although, there's a cabinet right behind the cracks so I'm guessing I wouldn't be able to see them if there was). I am not sure if this is an cause for concern as there's no other cracks internally or externally that would show subsidence in the house.

If anyone else has any ideas I would be interested to hear them. There is actually a window above this door which has a small bit of plastic taken out of the bottom where the latch goes, now I'm starting to wonder if they took it out as it started to stick but in the past 5 years I've not actually experienced it getting worse myself.

I'm not sure if I'm being paranoid as I am starting to worry about lots of other parts of the house or if this actually looks like it may be a structural problem. If anyone else has had similar or knows about subsidence cracks please let me know what you think.
 

Attachments

  • brick-cracks.jpeg
    brick-cracks.jpeg
    469.6 KB · Views: 126
Is the brickwork on the right for a later extension? As it's not tied in to the brickwork on the left. A pic from further away might assist.
 
freddiemercurystwin said:
Is the brickwork on the right for a later extension? As it's not tied in to the brickwork on the left. A pic from further away might assist.
Click to expand...
I do think it is an extension but it seems to have been there for some time. The house was converted from office into dwellings in the early 1900's or so so I think it may have been done then. The original building I think was built around 1880. I'll get a further image to show more of the wall but there's no other cracks anywhere else or near the window I mentioned that may have stuck in the past or just wasn't installed correctly (Which I always assumed it was)
 
Looks like the right side of the joint was an extension. It's hard to tell from the close-up, but it looks like the far (right) end of the extension has sunk, i.e. the whole thing has tipped. If so the movement will be nothing at the bottom and widest at the top. It's common with extensions, as they have 3 walls so the other end is heavy, this end is light, so it tips up over the years.

It's perfectly possible all the movement happened shortly after it was built and it hasn't budged since. It's also possible it happened last week (but very unlikely).

Wider photos would be useful. Woody will probably complain bitterly, but you can monitor movement across a crack with movement indicators. But they may not work in your case as it looks like the brickwork has broken/stretched in various places rather than one specific line. If it's not moving then point it, if it is moving then it needs care.

There is a risk with pointing the gaps, if it's on clay then you get heave you can end up making it worse through ratcheting, as the crack won't be able to close the next time it wants to, so it gets pushed out wider.

Informative video...


You may be better cutting out the corner and turning it into a movement joint, i.e. a deliberate weakness with flexible material in it.
 
Thanks for this. I actually watched that video last night so it makes a lot more sense re ratcheting and I was a bit more weary to re-point it as they mention it'll just get worse. I may look into some movement indicators though. Like I said, there's nothing at all to indicate a problem at the top of the extension just that one part, I went out last night to check for that nearer the roof. I couldn't see any cracks at all to be honest and the roof I have had someone out recently to say it's in very good shape across the house.

Do you have any movement indicators you'd recommend using as I have no clue about them should I chose to go down that route but I am more sure this is historic given in 5 years there's nothing else to indicate movement and that has been there for quite some time. I guess it can't hurt to check and go from there though.
 
I would point it up and see how things get on. If it aint moved in years then i expect it never will.
 
I'm not sure whether that's movement anyway, it may just be that some pointing's fallen out. Hard to tell from the photo.


You might struggle to find a good place though, plus you'd need to drill into the bricks.

I wouldn't bother in your case, if you think it's moving then chisel/grind out the corner, put grey sealant in, with something foamy underneath if you end up with a deep groove, e.g....

Fossa Caulk Saver - 6 meter roll

Fossa Caulk Saver is a closed-cell foam packing strip designed to reduce the amount of caulk or filler you need to use to seal large joints or cracks
www.decoratingdirect.co.uk www.decoratingdirect.co.uk

i.e. Create a weak point where it's free to move if it wants to. Then repoint the rest. Might need lime mortar if that's what's used elsewhere, also more flexible but less hard-wearing.
 
newman12 said:
Hello,

I've had my house about 5 years now, I did notice these cracks but nothing showed up in the report but now I'm starting to get quite worried about them. They've not gotten worse from what I can see and I can't see any cracks internally (Although, there's a cabinet right behind the cracks so I'm guessing I wouldn't be able to see them if there was). I am not sure if this is an cause for concern as there's no other cracks internally or externally that would show subsidence in the house.

If anyone else has any ideas I would be interested to hear them. There is actually a window above this door which has a small bit of plastic taken out of the bottom where the latch goes, now I'm starting to wonder if they took it out as it started to stick but in the past 5 years I've not actually experienced it getting worse myself.

I'm not sure if I'm being paranoid as I am starting to worry about lots of other parts of the house or if this actually looks like it may be a structural problem. If anyone else has had similar or knows about subsidence cracks please let me know what you think.
Click to expand...
Looks like a slammers jamb, lol. I threatened to remove all the doors in our house, if the missus carried on slamming them in her temper.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top