Stepped cracks in exterior wall

[vinn]

Its an interesting thread, and I certainly dont have any answers but would hope the OP comes back with news of whatever happens next?

FWIW:
The front elevation has very little in the way of brick panels - there are a lot of openings on a narrow front.
However, none of the heads or sills have dropped, and the eaves line seems level & the roof plane flat.
Same with the beds on both walls: pretty level.

Its a pre-1914 house with a slate DPC that also seems to be fine & level - the elevations would appear to be cavity walls.

Is the cracking at both sides of the corner (#2pic) dropping towards the base of the point loaded corner and the original gulley? I'm confused by the, for once, abundance of pics.

OP,
If you return to check the interior then have a look at the unequal roof join with next door.

 

[electrogear]

Its an interesting thread, and I certainly dont have any answers but would hope the OP comes back with news of whatever happens next?

Absolutely

Its a pre-1914 house with a slate DPC that also seems to be fine & level - the elevations would appear to be cavity walls.

Pre 1900 I believe. Next door but one said their house was built 1887 and he said ours was built 5-10 years later.

Is the cracking at both sides of the corner (#2pic) dropping towards the base of the point loaded corner and the original gulley? I'm confused by the, for once, abundance of pics.

The cracks are on both sides, but pointing down and AWAY from the point loaded corner. Both sides have cracked bricks that have dropped a few mm. Tomorrow I will be able to gain access to the rear of the property to see if there's any cracking there too.

OP,
If you return to check the interior then have a look at the unequal roof join with next door.

I will do, but I'm not sure what I'm looking for? I will have a word with next door anyway to enquire about their brickwork because they've had all of the ground floor brickwork replaced on the shop front.

 

[electrogear]

Oh, another thing that makes me feel it's something more than thermal cracking, there's lots of houses made with the same brick on that road, and although there's been bricks replaced etc I can't see any other buildings with continuous vertical/stepped cracks like this.

 

[vinn]

Go into the bedroom and, probably, bathroom on the first floor, and examine the party wall and ceiling.
Or, if its possible, have a look at the party wall in the attic.
Look for anything odd, or cracks or damp signs.

 

[electrogear]

Went for the viewing. No cracks inside as far as I can see but it's all wallpapered so not sure if you would see the cracks on a papered wall anyway. There was no damp on that wall either. One point to note is that they've knocked out/chiselled out half of the brickwork from around the fireplace which is in between cracks "4" & "5" on the outside. There's one very slight hairline crack at the back of the house near the corner, about 2ft long, but nothing worrying inside at all apart from some damp at the front and back upstairs caused by blocked guttering. I checked out where the roof joins the party wall and there was no damp or cracks. Actually, it's not a party wall. The property is "detached" (there's a 6 inch gap between the houses) but the neighbours have bridged the gap between the two at the front because they thought it didn't look right.

I'm tempted to go for it and spend the £800 or how ever much it will cost to get a proper structural survey done.