Hi there
I own a ground floor old Victorian (circa 1890) building that was converted into flats circa 2000 (there's approximately 11 flats in the building itself). The building was previously a hotel up until the late 80s/90s but the structure has effectively remained the same since the conversion (as part of that conversion there were things like partition walls inserted in certain areas etc).
Next to our apartment (approx 10m away) there is an external staircase that leads up to the "ground floor" level (we are technically the basement even though we look out on to a road). There's a car parking space "in" the staircase (see the "staircase" picture. There is a flat next to us as well. The "ground floor level" is above us toward the back and we have a flat roof, which is technically someone else's patio. The staircase obviously forms part of the building.
Some 6 or 7 months ago (it could be longer than this but not sure) the staircase developed the cracks below in the next post (the majority of them - there is a single other crack on the inside of the staircase opposite "Crack1" which is smaller by a bit)
The cracks labelled "internal crack 2" and "internal staircase crack1" occur about half-way up and 3/4 the way up the staircase respectively (crack1 appears on the turn of the staircase up to the "ground level"). There are also a couple of very fine cracks around my door and a neighbour door but these appear to be longstanding and perhaps just in the render? From measurement, the "crack1" at its widest point may be around 3-5mm but otherwise is around 2-3mm. The other cracks are smaller than that or around 2mm.
One point to note is "crack1" appears (not identical) on the other side of the staircase wall and moves across that bit of the wall (see "other side of crack1"). There's also some cracks on the block below (behind the car in the "other side of crack 1" image).
Crack1 is not particularly deep (i.e you can't go to the other side at all!) but it's difficult to tell if it is just render or not because of the way it has formed. There's also a picture of the other side of the staircase (external facing) where the render slabs have just entirely fallen off (though there are no cracks in the stonework/masonary from what I can be seen). there's other cracks here and there on the staircase but "crack1" is the most significant (and the crack on the other side of the wall where "crack1" is).
A surveyor took a look round informally (not a survey, literally a 10 min whistle stop tour) and noted the cracks (mainly "crack1" etc) were odd and he felt they were through the stone and not just render - he's suggested some monitoring to check and a structural engineer to take a look. A mortgage valuer did look round my flat and went up the staircase etc and noted a few months ago that that they did not believe there was evidence of structural movement, heave or landslip in the immediate vicinity (and noted that on their report to the potential lender) but obviously that is not a "comprehensive" report.
For reference, at least in my flat, we have no internal facing cracks at all. Floors are somewhat uneven in various places but surveyor suggested this was likely historic and that we'd see other signs if a particular issue. No issue with skirting boards and the like and doors and windows are all fine with the exception of one door (living room) which can be a bit stiff.
Noting we need to see if the cracks are moving etc, is this a potential subsidence issue or thermal cracking/something of that nature? Just a bit worried but also a tough one to gauge!
Many thanks in advance!
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‘upload a file’ follow the link to your photos
Or you can copy and paste
***********
I own a ground floor old Victorian (circa 1890) building that was converted into flats circa 2000 (there's approximately 11 flats in the building itself). The building was previously a hotel up until the late 80s/90s but the structure has effectively remained the same since the conversion (as part of that conversion there were things like partition walls inserted in certain areas etc).
Next to our apartment (approx 10m away) there is an external staircase that leads up to the "ground floor" level (we are technically the basement even though we look out on to a road). There's a car parking space "in" the staircase (see the "staircase" picture. There is a flat next to us as well. The "ground floor level" is above us toward the back and we have a flat roof, which is technically someone else's patio. The staircase obviously forms part of the building.
Some 6 or 7 months ago (it could be longer than this but not sure) the staircase developed the cracks below in the next post (the majority of them - there is a single other crack on the inside of the staircase opposite "Crack1" which is smaller by a bit)
The cracks labelled "internal crack 2" and "internal staircase crack1" occur about half-way up and 3/4 the way up the staircase respectively (crack1 appears on the turn of the staircase up to the "ground level"). There are also a couple of very fine cracks around my door and a neighbour door but these appear to be longstanding and perhaps just in the render? From measurement, the "crack1" at its widest point may be around 3-5mm but otherwise is around 2-3mm. The other cracks are smaller than that or around 2mm.
One point to note is "crack1" appears (not identical) on the other side of the staircase wall and moves across that bit of the wall (see "other side of crack1"). There's also some cracks on the block below (behind the car in the "other side of crack 1" image).
Crack1 is not particularly deep (i.e you can't go to the other side at all!) but it's difficult to tell if it is just render or not because of the way it has formed. There's also a picture of the other side of the staircase (external facing) where the render slabs have just entirely fallen off (though there are no cracks in the stonework/masonary from what I can be seen). there's other cracks here and there on the staircase but "crack1" is the most significant (and the crack on the other side of the wall where "crack1" is).
A surveyor took a look round informally (not a survey, literally a 10 min whistle stop tour) and noted the cracks (mainly "crack1" etc) were odd and he felt they were through the stone and not just render - he's suggested some monitoring to check and a structural engineer to take a look. A mortgage valuer did look round my flat and went up the staircase etc and noted a few months ago that that they did not believe there was evidence of structural movement, heave or landslip in the immediate vicinity (and noted that on their report to the potential lender) but obviously that is not a "comprehensive" report.
For reference, at least in my flat, we have no internal facing cracks at all. Floors are somewhat uneven in various places but surveyor suggested this was likely historic and that we'd see other signs if a particular issue. No issue with skirting boards and the like and doors and windows are all fine with the exception of one door (living room) which can be a bit stiff.
Noting we need to see if the cracks are moving etc, is this a potential subsidence issue or thermal cracking/something of that nature? Just a bit worried but also a tough one to gauge!
Many thanks in advance!
***********
‘upload a file’ follow the link to your photos
Or you can copy and paste
***********
Last edited:
