Tiny cracks running along walls one inch from ceiling

Hi, bit of a strange one this. I've looked for it in the forums but it's a bit hard to describe and therefore hard to find if it's been posted about before.

I'm in the process of buying a new house (new build, only 3 years old)and this one, and others that we viewed had tiny little cracks in the walls running along about one inch from the ceiling and also down the corner of the walls.

It's nothing to worry about I'm sure, but I just wondered what it was, because to me, it looks like maybe the joins where the walls meet the ceiling and where one wall meets another have been sealed with a strip of paper about 2 inches thick.

Therefore, you have 1 inch on the wall and 1 inch on the ceiling and then it's painted over. In my opinion, (and I'm no painter) the cracks appear cos the paper has come away from the wall. Am I making any sense? Is this a common thing in new builds? Have I described it correctly? If that is the case, what can I do to fix the few areas that it occurs in my new house (there aren't that many, but one house we viewed had it in every room)??

Thanks a lot

Webby

Hi Webby,
Yes, sounds to me as if your tapes are coming off.Take the loose ones off carefully and get new tapes put back on.Unfortunately,this is very common nowadays.Get the seller to repair them.

Roughcaster.

If it is a 3 year old property has it a 10 year NHBC warranty? If so get the seller to contact them to get problem sorted. In new builds you get the odd cracks in plaster as it dries out but they can be filled in easily...your prob is a different matter. Hope you get it sorted quickly and with no mess or expense!

Thanks guys. Would the NHBC cover this? If so, that cover covers the house doesn't it, not the current owners, so we could get it sorted afterwards.

Is it a big job, or just a tricky, messy one?

Webby

Hi

It might only be the first 2 years that that such is only covered but it is worth asking? Depends also what the cause is for if it in't anything serious then it will be classified as normal shrinkage: "Please remember that the builder is not responsible for items such as normal shrinkage" .

Ask your surveryor; or get a builder to have a look and give you an estimte just to be safe as it might be simply poor workmanship.

I had a new home and after 3 years there was a bad creaking on the upstairs floors and that was fixed via NHBC. I moved to aN OLD SOLID HOUSE! Watching them build a new house doesn't convince me that they will still be here in 50 years never mind 100

Webby,
I'm not sure what the NHBC would cover,you would have to find out.Check out ALL the internal corners,walls/ceilings in EVERY room,because that is where most tapes come loose.Rub the back of your hand down and along all these corners with just your fingernails touching the surface.You will hear anything that is hollow or loose.Plaster,tiles,tapes it works every time.Mark the ones that you find so you know the extent of the repairs. All of the loose ones should be removed and replaced.It is a problem,but not a major one.Messy,it can be.Shouldn't be that expensive to repair ask around,get a few quotes.You still don't want it coming out of your pocket.It is the kind of job you would want to get sorted out before you start to furnish the place. Find out who pays though.A couple of hundred pounds???? more?? depends.

Roughcaster.

Most paper tapes come away from walls/ceilings because of the failure of the materials they are put on with.Poor workmanship can also play a part. I see it all the time and it bugs me.The best material to bed paper tapes on with is Gyproc Joint Filler (the best) or an equivilant.The only problem with using joint filler is that it only has a life of about 1 hour and then it goes solid,you then have to clean all your tools,buckets etc.so it is not used on most jobs.It slows the job down.Instead,ready-mix is widely used because it can be used in a taping machine,so that a lot of tapes can be put on very quickly.It doesn't have a setting time because it "air dries" once it is on the wall.So it suits the person doing the job,and is easily cleaned up.The tapes are coated over another 2 or 3 times with this stuff and then,when dry,they are sanded down ready for decoration.Over time, maybe a very short period of time,after the owners have moved in,and the heatings on,and the building has dried out,the ready-mix holding the tapes in place shrinks,and causes the tapes to come away from the walls/ceilings.I use joint filler every time to apply tapes to the wall,and THEN coat out with ready-mix and can guarantee they will not come loose.If I was having a new property built,there is NO way that I would have paper tapes put on with a machine using ready mix.I would have them put on by hand with the filler,and THEN use the machine.It would take a bit longer,cost a bit more,but you would not have to put them on again.

Roughcaster

Thanks guys, that's brilliant info.

I'll check out the NHBC cert, but I'm not sure we wanna cause a delay in asking it to be sorted by the vendors.....I'd be happy to sort it out myself.


Cheers,

Webby

Cove it