1st floor bay (below window) is starting to come away..

[TerribleTinkerer]

This is a 1950s build and the outermost material is clay tiles. The upstairs bay is developing a crack (pictured below).

I have seen this happen elsewhere and a long time ago: What happened in the other house was that new upstairs bay windows results in extra strain on the old bay, causing cracks to appear next to the load bearing walls, and the bay to gradually move away from the load bearing walls. What I learned from that is that wind/water seeps in during storms, and gradually the crack widens until the room is no longer habitable.

I don't know the exact cause: Perhaps the added weight of double glazed windows, or perhaps water seeps in around a badly fitted windows.

Question: What is the root cause of the crack? What needs to be done, and how much should this cost to repair properly?

Untitled

• TerribleTinkerer
• 13 Jul 2014
• 1

Many thanks!

 

[ree]

TerribleTinkerer,

perhaps you would read my above post, just now to steven 239?

I ask because so many times i've attempted to advise an OP, and its been a waste of energy. Some Q's require quite a commitment by the OP to give us further information so that we can help you.

Having had my rant, if you want to continue then come back here, and i will do my best to advise you.

 

[TerribleTinkerer]

Hi ree,

I appreciate your sincerity and I can try to answer questions. However, I do not currently have regular access to the house, so I'm not going to be able to post many pictures.

What I'm looking for is a cost estimate (location is Surrey, UK), or a description of the worst-case-scenario. This is a traditional UK town house. I think the materials of the bay on 1st floor (that is upstairs in the UK) are:

1. Wooden slats
2. Course-grain plaster (cracked in photo)
3. Clay tiles on exterior

I hope they didn't mix asbestos in the bay - would they?

There are no problems on the ground floor bay, which is just brick, like a normal load bearing exterior wall.

Thanks,
Glen