Bay window crack

[m0t]

I have noticed a large crack in a bay and don't know how worried I should be. You can see daylight through it.

The crack runs from the bottom of the sill to the floor. The ceiling below has a hairline crack in it.

I had new upvc windows put in in July and they didn't install the support under this corner of the bay (in the lower bay) properly and I had to have them back to fix it (which took 2 months). The ceiling crack appeared at the same time but hasn't gotten worse.

I don't know when the crack appeared in the upstairs bay because it's not somewhere I see a lot in daylight as it's in the bedroom. The crack is to the left of the radiator on the left side of the bay.

I can't get a photo of the crack from the outside because it's behind tiles.

 

[m0t]

Just pulled some of the plaster off to find some really old caulk behind it and a gap I can get my finger through.

 

[tomfe]

So the old bay roof will have been supported on the old wooden window frames these have been removed so it has no support.
What support did the window company come and put in?
Do your windows in the downstairs bay open correctly?

 

[m0t]

So the old bay roof will have been supported on the old wooden window frames these have been removed so it has no support.
What support did the window company come and put in?
Do your windows in the downstairs bay open correctly?

I had a big fight with the window company about this very issue. The upstairs bay was installed without the bay poles being connected to the head. I had to complain before the put this right.

The downstairs bay has a steel corner post that runs through the cill to the brickwork below. They didn't do this for 2 months because they claimed it was unnecessary.

All the windows open correctly although some had to be adjusted after the post was installed.

Before the upvc windows were installed there were early 90's aluminium units installed in the wooden frames. The caulk I found filling the gap was the same that was round these windows so I guess it originally opened when these were installed.

 

[bernardgreen]

Were the installers registered with FENSA ? If so contact FENSA

http://www.fensa.co.uk/homeowner-info.aspx

also contact Trading Standards / Citizens Advice as the work done to your property seems to have compromised the structure of the bay window. Building Control Officers at the local council may be prepared to offer advice as to the hazards if any that the apparently incompetently performed work has created.

 

[m0t]

They are FENSA register but I haven't had the cert yet. They told me it takes 6 weeks and it was only done in mid December.

 

[bernardgreen]

I had new upvc windows put in in July

They told me it takes 6 weeks and it was only done in mid December.

Make a complaint in writing to FENSA and copy it to the Building Control Officer at the council for their information. They may decide to back up your complaint to FENSA

 

[m0t]

Should I get a structural report done first to confirm it's the windows causing the problem?

 

[m0t]

The right hand side of the crack is wood (I'm assuming this is what the bay is made from) and the left hand side is brick.

There is no evidence in the gap of any fixings that have been pulled out and the gap is very old (based on the state of the dead spiders) and the fact that there is old plaster inside it.

I'm now thinking that the gap was there when the house was built (in 1930) and just filled in and plastered over (I found other walls had been done like this). At some point it's cracked the plaster so been filled with caulk and replastered and now cracked again.

I'm visualising what I am seeing as a timber stud that was originally tied to the wall at the top by the wooden cills. Would this make sense?

This doesn't explain why the plaster has opened up or the ceiling downstairs had cracked, I'm assuming that's related to the new windows