Crack above arched entry

[Viktoria]

Hi. I wonder if anyone could help with some advice. 

I was looking at a house to buy that has a big crack above an arched entry porch. This crack is visible from the inside too. 

How serious is the problem? How could it be repaired and what would be the rough cost of this? 

 Any advice would be much appreciated! 

[Bonner]

The internal photos seem to be a different location, not the other side of that arch. Did you take these photos? They are more than hairline cracks, I would be getting a structural engineer to look at it. Remedial cost could be anything depending on cause.

[Viktoria]

Hi Bonner. Thank you for your reply. 

My partner took the photos, it's definitely the same crack, the upper half of it. The main concern is that if the house has structural issues, whether the bank will even be willing to port our mortgage, so we're weighing up whether it's even worth paying for a very expensive structural survey

 

[Bonner]

You could ask a (trusted) builder to give an informal assessment/budget cost, to see if they think it’s a major problem?

[Redbeard]

Is this a single-storey property, or 2-storey? Can you post some general pics of that elevation externally? Those bricks look weirdly long, unless the internal pic is somehow distorted.

[Redbeard]

Note there is a difference between an RICS 'Full Structural Survey' (or whatever it is now called - I cannot remember) and a Structural Engineer's Report. The latter will, if you so instruct, report simply on the issue in question.

[Viktoria]

It's a bungalow and the arch is above a porch like entry. 

It's a single skin wall of some sort of concrete blocks 

[Spinny]

You could ask when it was rendered ? 

Render might have been used to hide the issue in the past. Clearly there has been movement since the rendering, hence the cracked rendering.

The pillar to the left of the arch when facing the house looks an odd shape, almost as though it might have been thickened at the bottom before the rendering.

 

Perhaps you could formally ask the owners to provide you with a full history of the issue and any and all work done to remediate and when.

 

Perhaps there are other similar design properties nearby  (as it looks like it might be a road of bungalow/chalet style houses built at the same time by the same builder). If so look to see if similar properties show the same issue, which might be design, construction, or materials related.

 

PS

Also, is that a rendered chimney ? Sign of issues there too ?

Neighbouring property has recent looking cladding - another possible cosmetic approach to dealing with structural problems ?

Agree about the weird bricks and the ratio of blocks to mortar doesn't look right there.

Edited Thursday at 23:31 by Spinny

[Viktoria]

Hi Spinny, thanks a lot for your input! 

Unfortunately the seller's reply was that there's nothing wrong with the house. His grandmother lived in it for 30 years and he claims he's not aware of any issues with the front. 

The rendered chimney is also a concern, some of the render has fallen off on the other side. 

There are a lot of similar bungalows with arches in the area and the more I look the more I think it's a weakness of the design. A lot of them have cracks above the arch repaired and some even have visible lintels added or squared entries. 

[Redbeard]

I would probably not be remotely bothered about the chimney - there's not much of it and you might not keep it anyway. But 'nothing wrong...'.?.. till it droops?

[Viktoria]

I know, it's outrageous. And the property agent just says I can get a survey but then I'm taking all the risk to potentially prove them wrong but still be unable to mortgage it. 

[Spinny]

The chimney is usually where people have their TV aeriel mounted. So note the aerial has been sited at the top of the front wall instead.

 

Don't forget you can normally freely search the local authority planning application database and building notice database. If there was significant building work there might have been a building notice - or indeed building notices related to the issue for other properties with that design. You could search the local rags archives for any stories about problems with the houses.

 

Houses sold on death of granny often havn't had any maintenance or upkeep. There was one in our road in a shocking state. Such houses can be an opportunity if you are young and handy and can get the right price, but perhaps not what you want in later life. Don't let the magic word 'bungalow' cloud your judgement if in later life.

[Viktoria]

Thank you for all the advice, you've been so helpful! 

[Roundtuit]

I'd guess that the foundations for that supporting pillar could independent from the foundations of the rest of the house and the crack is a result of differential settlement.  A bit of digging would soon find out if that's the case.

 

The fix depends on whether it's still moving, and that's where you need expert advice.  Maybe stitching the crack and patching the render would sort it out if it's stable, or underpinning the pillar first if not?

 

Personally, I think it's potentially a negotiating point rather than deal breaker, but it depends on how much hassle it's worth to you. You may also find that lenders are more comfortable with 'historical settlement' than 'subsidence'.

[torre]

23 hours ago, Viktoria said:

a lot of similar bungalows with arches in the area and the more I look the more I think it's a weakness of the design. A lot of them have cracks above the arch repaired

Agree with @Roundtuit that it could be the foundations of the pillar were made less substantial than the rest, perhaps poured as a separate pad and so can move separately

Have a read of this RICS guide to cracks - these may be closer to a category 2 than 3. I'm not a surveyor but suspect it's more a cosmetic issue than a major structural one. For future mortgageability and saleability though I'd want a survey that ruled out subsidence and would be discounting my offer quite a bit regardless (say 10k+). The vendor probably wants a quick sale but has a prominent crack that no potential purchaser will miss. If neighbours have solved with lintels and rebuilding the corner say, know on a couple of doors where they've solved the issue and introduce yourself maybe?

[Viktoria]

Thank you both for your help, I really appreciate it

[ProDave]

As a non professional (at least not a structural professional) I have seen this sort of thing a lot.

 

The left hand side of the arch has to support a lot of weight in a small space, so my take is the mass on that left had footing is more Kg per square metre than the rest of the foundations and that left hand foundation has settled more.  Given the age of the house I bet the foundations are not particularly deep.

 

The crack is not going to go away.  IF you buy it now like that, it might just stay the same, it might get worse but one thing is sure if you ever decide to sell the buyer will be asking the same questions.

 

The only safe way is to get a structural survey and then negotiate the price down for the repairs needed.

 

Or walk away and find a different property.  It all depends how much you want it.

[saveasteading]

I'm used to taking risks on such things, but based on close inspection. 

First thought is that a crack there is predictable and repairable BUT

I'd need to know the construction of that arch. Has it stopped moving?

 

Do you have a photo of the arch crack from inside? The first impression isn't good. Block wall formed as an arch without support   then covered in mortar and render?

The rafters needs a tie too.

 

The cracks look big. Can you advise how wide they are? Could you push a coin in there? 1p ? £1?

 

It could well be that nobody would get a mortgage.

Is it otherwise a seemingly  bargain price?

 

There is an alternative.  An SE could look and give a verbal assessment on the spot. Nothing in writing and no commitment. £200?

You must agree that it is a non binding first opinion.

 

That opinion could be that it's awful so walk away. Or spend £30k on remedials.

Or that it needs a formal assessment at greater cost.

 

 

Bottom line? It's a big risk if you aren't a building expert.