Roof spread

[Beansbaked]

Hi sorry to be asking advice again so soon. Would roof spread cause hairline horizontal and diagonal cracks inside the house? I can’t see any outside but there are definitely new ones inside on the same wall in every upstairs room. This is also the same wall that has a 3 brick step crack at the top of the external wall. The radiators and windows are on the same wall if that is of any importance.

Should I arrange for a structural engineer to come and have a look?

 

[noseall]

Hi sorry to be asking advice again so soon. Would roof spread cause hairline horizontal and diagonal cracks inside the house? I can’t see any outside but there are definitely new ones inside on the same wall in every upstairs room. This is also the same wall that has a 3 brick step crack at the top of the external wall. The radiators and windows are on the same wall if that is of any importance.

Should I arrange for a structural engineer to come and have a look?

Roof spread would cause masonry damage, yes. Exactly how it would manifest depends on how the structure was built. Step cracking, especially above windows is common in all houses of a certain age.

 

[Beansbaked]

Thank you for your reply. I have spoken to a structural engineer today who is coming to visit next week. Hopefully then I will know what’s going on, there’s no point in keeping guessing I should have called them before. He did say 9 times out of 10 it’s nothing major so hopefully it can be easily fixed

 

[^woody^]

Horizontal cracking can be caused by roof spread, but it would be in a specific location and be of a specific style. So, not all horizontal cracking is a symptom, and stepped cracking tends to be some other cause.

 

[Beansbaked]

Horizontal cracking can be caused by roof spread, but it would be in a specific location and be of a specific style. So, not all horizontal cracking is a symptom, and stepped cracking tends to be some other cause.

Thanks for your reply. The diagonal cracks seem to go up or down from the bottom of the windows and are really long. The horizontal ones are either midwall or under the window.

The plaster sounds very hollow when I tap it on the wall in all of the bedrooms and all 3 have radiators under the windows I’m not sure if the heating and cooling would cause this?

 

[catlad]

Photo's , age , type of property would help.

 

[Beansbaked]

It’s a 1950-1960s semidetached. The cracks are like this on the same wall in each bedroom

 

[^woody^]

I'm voting for the No Roof Spread Party

 

[Beansbaked]

I'm voting for the No Roof Spread Party

Thank you, I hope you are right.