Cracks in walls (inside and out)

[AxisE]

Hi all

I live in a 1930's house. Over the last few weeks we've noticed lots of small cracks popping up in the plaster surrounding the doors and windows within the property. Over the last coupe of weeks, two of these cracks has grown, one is now 4mm and the other around 2.5mm.


This weekend gone, I noticed that the bigger cracks (mentioned above) have corresponding cracks on the outside of the property, albeit smaller cracks (they look like they're 1 - 2mm wide). These cracks are in the mortar between the bricks.

I've taken pictures of the cracks and saved them here:

Front:

[/IMG]

Back:

I feel stressed and stuck, I called the home insurance today who gave me 2 options:

1) I register a claim with them, they log it on the database as a subsidence claim and send an engineer out to assess the damage. If the engineer decides it is not subsidence, but merely wear and tear, the company will not take it any further however the subsidence claim remains on the database for 25 years

2) I get builders/my own engineers round to assess the damage, if it is subsidence, I then do option 1.

Really not sure what i should do, all help and advice appreciated

 

[^woody^]

Can you upload the full images instead of those tiny things.

And where are the trees and large shrubs in relation to the house? And do you know what types they are?

Those external cracks do look old not new, and the number of them, and around the windows do not indicate subsidence. Most of them do look quite common for that sort of house with those sorts of replacement plastic windows.

I would not do anything with the insurers at the moment. Especially not with regards to a subsidence claim.

 

[AxisE]

Thanks for your response, There is a large birch tree about 10m from the house, its bigger than the house. The inside of the house is also covered with hairline plaster cracks which have only popped up over the last 2 months. I'll try to get the bigger pics on.

 

[stuart45]

Is the house built on shrinkable clay soil.