large crack under window

[cycloneuk]

I have a window with a crack about 10+ inches running down under the sill to the right of the window, with nearly an inch gap in places where all the mortar has come away i think, one or two of the bricks might also be cracked, it looks like it goes through since there is a crack on the render outside. Could be from subcidence/settlement, since the house was underpinned in 1998 due to what was believed to be historic settlement mainly on the party wall towards the rear, the crack looks to be old but i'm not an expert. What is the best way to repair / fill it?

Also there are gaps around the window, don't think they were put in very well and damp/moistuire has been getting in and has caused the plaster to go under the window, what is best to fill these with? the sides have been filled with expanding foam but the gap under the window which goes through to outside is only about 3 or 4mm but when it's windy a hell of a draft comes through it.

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• cycloneuk
• 21 Dec 2011
• 1

Untitled

• cycloneuk
• 21 Dec 2011
• 1

 

[roy c]

If a building is going to crack it will usually take the route of where there is an opening . ie.either side of a door or window,where the lintol sits on the brickwork of the revels. But what you have got looks like a subsidance crack, is it a 9" solid brick wall? I take it that this is on the ground floor? Usually the way to repair a crack that has ocurred either on either side of a revel or any where on the building is to hack out around the crack about 300 mm either side if possible then nail some s/s expanding metal on it then render it or finish it to the suitable requirement . You can have a look on one of my albums(patching dash) and you will see what I mean. BUT I think that yours is more than just a "crack" that you can mesh and everything is ok!! You mentioned that it has been under pinned at some stage well I would get a structral engineer in and get his opinion because I think that you may still have a bit of subsidance by the look of that crack...But we will see what the other "lads" think.....

 

[cycloneuk]

It is a first floor window with a porch under it which appears to be ok. I'm hoping it is old cracking, it was hidden by plaster and only revealed when i chipped away blown plaster, although the engineer did note that there was a slight crack on the render outside of the window when i had the report done.

 

[JohnD]

can you stand back and show a pic of the house from the ground up, including the porch and ground-floor windows?

 

[cycloneuk]

can you stand back and show a pic of the house from the ground up, including the porch and ground-floor windows?

here is a pic the EA took if that helps

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• cycloneuk
• 21 Dec 2011
• 1

 

[jrplastering]

if you get someone in to check that its not still moveing and they say that it isnt then you can do what roy suggested but mabey take it back a bit further than 300mm, rake out mortar between bricks and fit heli bars then replace motar that you raked out, then you fill crack with a 2 part resin repair kit (the bars and resin can be bought from screw fix as a kit)
it looks like you have lime morar and plaster so as a backing coat you can use limelite renovation plaster then top with plaster or filler depends how confident you are with a trowel.
do same on outside but match in what you have with your sand cement and pebbledash.
as you have sand and cement on the outside you might be alright to use normal bonding to patch the inside, but as it looks like you have lime already i thought id suggest the renovation limelite as an option.
oh yeah dnt forget before you put your backing coat on the inside and scratch on the outside, and after you hve fitted the heli bars and resin make sure you fit ss mesh over the crack aswell.
i think that makes sense it did in my head anyway but its late

 

[JohnD]

I would be suspicious that it is connected with the opening for the porch.

I can't see from that pic if the brickwork was opened up or interfered with when the porch was added (it doesn't look original)

I see the crack looks wider at the top but I've forgotten what that signifies.

 

[cycloneuk]

I would be suspicious that it is connected with the opening for the porch.

I can't see from that pic if the brickwork was opened up or interfered with when the porch was added (it doesn't look original)

I see the crack looks wider at the top but I've forgotten what that signifies.

The porch was added on at a later date since the old house number is on the inside white door, i'm not an expert but it looks like the porch has just been slapped on the front. The wood frame is screwed to the original red brick on the inside, no idea if anything specific was done to attach the porch roof.

 

[JohnD]

might there just be a wooden beam holding the wall up, over the doorway? Or is it a shallow arch? can you take a pic? preferably showing where the bottom of that crack goes? (plaster and render may be ready to fall off)

 

[jrplastering]

as i said get someone in to check for movement if there is no movement then you can repair as i said in previous post

 

[joe-90]

It's probably old and that is why the house was rendered. Fill it and re-render it.

 

[peaps]

If the house was underpinned then I would not worry it is most probably historic. It's only a small area so I would remove the brick and redo it. What's the outside wall like?