How bad is this crack?

Hi,

Looking to purchase below property but we noticed a large crack running vertically along the beginning of the bay window. We can see plaster and what looks to be brick work when peaking a light into it, it looks up to an inch in depth, possibly more.

How serious is this and would it require immediate attention? Ideally we are not looking to do major structural works before moving.

Thanks

ground floor or first floor?
are there cracks on the external brickwork / masonry?
have the windows been replaced -are they upvc?

external pics would be more helpful TBH

unfortunately the short answer I think is: "its hard to know from the info"


if its ground floor -then it could be foundation, in which case it will probably stay like that without much change for decades

if its 1st floor -its poss due to ground floor windows being changed for upvc and masonry in between has dropped.
Judging by the shallow window board Id guess its a single skin wall under the bay.

it looks like the crack tapers which indicates the wall is starting to lean outwards -if cracks are noticeable externally and look bad then you could put some metal straps on internally and do the repair next year

Sorry should have specified this is first floor. It is difficult to see clearly from the outside as the design of the building has tiles covering the bay part (see attached). The crack was tapering inwards.

The windows do look like they have been replaced recently for the whole house. There were cracks around the other side of the bay but they looked to be more hairline. This one looked the worst. Is this something to be worried about? We are not looking to perform costly structural works before moving in.

It's common bay movement - typically related to when the windows were changed. Whether it's ongoing or stopped is the issue and that requires someone to asses it on site.

Generally, its not a major issue and repair is relatively simple, but that needs checking and reflecting in the sale price.