Horizontal crack

[ymin]

Hi Everyone
I am buying this bungalow. There is a few cracks at this bungalow. Would someone advice me that it is serious cracking.
1. Horizontal cracking front bay windows
2. Step cracking under front bay windows
Thanks in advance.

 

[Wayners]

Ground movement.
Any trees or drains?

Don't look bad. Getting survey?

 

[ymin]

Have not send the survey yet. Is it worrying crack? Should i walk away? Drainage Inspection chamber in front of this bay window.
Is it subsidence?
Thank you so much for the advice.

 

[stevie888]

Drainage near bay suggests there's a leak and a bit of wash out of soil allowing the founds to settle

 

[ymin]

cctv drainage survey will attend next week. Once it is fixed will it stop moving? Should i look for any other house?

 

[Ivor Windybottom]

It looks like shrinkage from the photos rather than subsidence, as the main gaps are vertical, and it looks like the horizontal gaps are only big enough to allow the wall to slide horizontally.

It's found the natural weakest point, through the window.

Bungalows are more prone to shrinkage cracks, just because the wall isn't very high. Where there's a big window there's not actually very much holding it left to right so it will crack if it gets unusually warm and/or dry.

Our place has a good few similar cracks. You could re-point if it bothers you, or you could just ignore it.

 

[ymin]

Thank you so much for the advice. What about the step crack below the bay window. Is it shrinkage as well. Would you please advise me.
Thanks in advance.

 

[Ivor Windybottom]

You have to judge for yourself. The big worry is if a chunk of the building is sinking vertically, then you'll get horizontal gaps where one section has dropped.

It's impossible to say from the photo alone, but if the gaps are mainly vertical then it's just horizontal (shrinkage) movement. If the horizontal cracks are just a grain of sand wide then they've just detached enough to allow this movement.

 

[Ivor Windybottom]

Alternatively, a subsidence crack may be wider at the top than the bottom. This is where one part of the building is tipping away from the rest.

Yours just looks like horizontal movement.

 

[Ivor Windybottom]

This is (extreme) subsidence...

Follow the courses from left to right, you'll see the step change. This is an extreme example.

 

[Ivor Windybottom]

Less extreme but also subsidence...

If the horizontal lines are thicker than a grain of sand and/or it's wider at the top then it's a worry.

 

[ymin]

Thank you so much Ivor. I am just worried that it is going to be big issue after buying this property so it is not subsidence crack and highly likely shrinkage crack. I have attached 2 photos. These are below that bay windows. Is it serious or just normal shrinkage crack.

 

[Ivor Windybottom]

Obviously I'm not going to give you a written warranty, and I'm a random unqualified stranger on the internet.

But my bungalow has bigger cracks that don't worry me.

If you're not sure then get a detailed survey. Unfortunately they often make things sound over-alarming though, they don't want any comeback so will want a drains survey, all of which will cost money, and will probably say the place might collapse tomorrow.

 

[ymin]

Thank you so much for your kind help. I am just over worried. This bungalow is built on shrink-swell clays. I couldn’t afford for all of these surveys.

 

[^woody^]

That crack under the bay lloks like it has been repaired previously and re-cracked.

The crack at eaves level looks like it's more related to either tying of the celling joists or some movement of the gable.

Are there cracks internally too, in the same place?