On Thu, 26 Aug 2004 13:34:46 +0100, JK wrote:

...no, it's not J-Lo. I've discovered a worrying crack in the party wall
on the top floor of my new house. It's near to the outside wall, about
3ft long and 1-2mm wide. Goes at a steep diagonal starting about 6" from
the outside wall up to about 2' from the outside wall. Looking along the
outside wall, I can see that it appears to have bowed out slightly,
which is I presume the cause of the crack. The bowing appears to be
limited to the upper part of the wall.

Not sure how to proceed now. Just bought the place so I'm reluctant to
get the insurers involved as they may well decide it started with the
previous occupants and start a battle with previous insurers. Also, it's
a party wall so that could make things complicated.

What could cause this, and how would it be treated? I imagine what will
need to be done is one of those big metal X things on the outside wall
to hold it all together. Is that an expensive job, or even a DIY job?
I'm slightly tempted to plaster it up and keep an eye on it for 6
months, but that's obviously a bit risky.

Any ideas?


A full structural survey will not stop the building cracking.
It might have stopped you buying a normal home with small cracks in it
which is what you have.

Most buildings settle, if ground conditions are unchanged it takes about
400 years for the building to stop moving, that's the theory anyway.

If the cracks have appeared over night then it is time to start monitoring
them. If/when it gets to the point where you can put a pencil in it then
you will need some professional help.

Until then or if the crack is old, fill it, decorate and forget it.

HTH

If you had said:
In the last month a 6mm crack has opened up in this wall.
What do I do? Then you will have to contact you building insurers who will
tell you to get a foundation/soil engineers' report. They may even have
their own pet engineers to send out.

--
Ed Sirett - Property maintainer and registered gas fitter.
The FAQ for uk.diy is at www.diyfaq.org.uk
Gas fitting FAQ http://www.makewrite.demon.co.uk/GasFitting.html
Sealed CH FAQ http://www.makewrite.demon.co.uk/SealedCH.html