Crack repair/Advice

[jonathan81]

Hi I'm wondering if anyone can help with some advice. I've recently discovered some cracks in my internal walls, living room and one bedroom. The living room crack runs from ceiling down to about halfway and is no wider than 1mm. I have managed to fit a thin blade in the crack but it only goes about 2 mm in depth. The bedroom crack runs from the side of the wall to about a quarter of the width. This crack is about 2mm in width and i have dug this crack out and notice that the depth is about 1cm. I have attached pictures for reference (the white wall is living room and the other pic shows the crack I've dug out, which actually looks worse than it is!).

What I'm after is some advice. Ive checked external walls and there are no cracks and the walls in concern are internal and are not connected to any external ones. I'm wondering whether the plaster/render has blown and the walls need to be taken back to the brick/material and then rerendered/plastered? or whether is could be something far worse?

hope that makes sense. Sorry for big pics and quality of them

 

[FRAN1870]

Hi

Some info on the construction of the house would be good please ... is it Victorian ? New build etc ?

Have you had any work done recently ?

If it's blown plaster you will hear it when you tap around the wall... the adhered pieces will sound solid and the blown sections will sound hollow. That said if it was me I'd be wanting to knock more of the plaster off to see what the problem was.

 

[jonathan81]

It's an old cottage dating back to 1850. I've had no work done recently . I'm not sure what material is behind the plaster, other than solid wall. But the crack only goes so deep, so that's why I'm wondering whether it's the render/plaster that's cracked rather than the wall itself

 

[FRAN1870]

Ok well there's only one way to be sure... I'd knock an area the size of a dinner plate and go right back to the substrate and make sure there's no further cracks in the wall ...

Be warned though, if it's blown plaster ( probably is ) then it may just drop off in large sections.

In my batheroom 1870's house a section of plaster about 4ft square just literally dropped off the wall with a tap

 

[vinn]

Good advice above.

How come you've only recently "discovered" these cracks? Has anything eg. heating, occupancy, recently changed in the cottage?
Is the exterior rendered - are the cracks anywhere near a chimney breast?
Photos showing a larger context of the rooms would help, so would photos of the exterior?

 

[jonathan81]

I will try and knock a larger section off. No nothing has changed, in terms of occupancy. Have the heating on a bit more though, maybe temperature change? The exterior is flint and solid wall which isn't rendered and the walls in question are nowhere near the chimney. I will try and take better pictures

 

[vinn]

I take you to mean that the flint is bedded in a mortar render, and there are open panels of brickwork?
I guess I'm looking for any obvious structural movement which might show on the external surfaces even though the cracks are on internal walls. But you've already looked.


I'm still wondering why now? Why the sudden discovery which implies recent movement of something - maybe just simple thermal movement of the plaster/wall?

Anyway, from the photos I dont think there are any serious concerns.