Cracks to our pebbledash

[IvyFlood]

Hi

Hoping some of you lovely people can help me!

We recently noticed some cracks to our pebble dash rendering (photos attached)

I'm not sure if its something to worry about or whether its totally normal?! The house is a 1960s build...

We have a huge window to the front of the house and one of the cracks is below it and what looks to be small cracks to the brick work? And the other is above the window but we can't see the extent of it towards the top of the house. The one below - we have a hairline crack on the inside in more or less the same place which looks like it may get bigger towards the bottom but we have a radiator in the way so can't see right down to the bottom.

Just worried it could be a sign of the dreaded S word!

Thanks

 

[KenGMac]

IvyFlood, good evening.

Can I ask that you post more images of the entire elevation, and images further back from the areas of the cracks externally.

Is the internal plaster on plasterboard or a solid wall??

Ken.

 

[IvyFlood]

Hi Ken

Please see further images (it’s getting dark mind!)

It is a solid wall, the wall of the front elevation.

 

[KenGMac]

IvyFlood, good evening, again.

From what can be seen, the cracks appear to be "thermal"

is that front elevation south facing, or getting a load of sun on it?

What happens is that the wall heats up, there is no "built in" expansion / contraction" gaps, combined with several lateral weak points in the wall, below and between the large windows.

By any chance have you seen any such cracking in any of the properties around you?

Ken

 

[IvyFlood]

Hi Ken

Thanks very much for the reply. So you don’t think it’s subsidence?

It is South Westerly facing and as we are a corner plot, we get the extreme of all weather!

Do you think the cracks need to be repaired as if water gets in them and freezes they could expand and blow, possibly damage the brickwork and cause penetrating damp?

My husband had a chat with our neighbours and they said they’ve got cracks all over both internal and external. He didn’t stay on it too long as they mentioned they had a leak in their roof! I keep meaning to have a close inspection of their pebble dash but they’ve always been in and don’t think they’d appreciate me at their front window! From what I can see they have a faint horizontal crack running between the two upstairs windows which we also have too.

 

[KenGMac]

IvyFlood,

No I am not saying Subsidence, i was trying to say "expansion and contraction of the external bricks?

Suggest you Google, Thermal movement of brickwork?

Ken