wall weakened?

[Grimreaper1]

When we had our bathroom remodelled one wall about a metre wide had more channels taken out of it. Internal non supporting wall built with thermalite blocks. It already had on the bathroom side chanelling out for a shaver socket (socket now removed) and on the other side a bedroom light switch. Now added chanelling down from loft for shower pipe, more for data cable in conduit for the digital shower controls, more for light switch for bathroom. Although switch on outside of room, chanelling out is on bathroom side. Wall also has heavy glass bath screen on it now also, plus its been boarded on the bathroom side (dot n dab) and heavy tiles over that. Screen obviously attached to tiles but screwed through.

I ask as have just found horizontal hairline plaster crack lower down the wall in the bedroom on the other side (can see and feel it through wall paper). This is probably just above bath height. I hope all of this chanelling out by the bathroom co has not compromised the wall structure. Am i being paranoid?[/quote]

 

[tony1851]

Chasing shouldn't be too much of a problem, particularly if the wall is restrained some way at the top, though there does seem to be a lot for a short length of wall.

The horizontal crack could be either some slight original bend in the supporting structure (is it supported off a wall below or just the floor?), or maybe the shower screen has pulled on it and cracked one of the horizontal mortar joints.

 

[Grimreaper1]

Thanks - that was my concern re short length of wall with a lot of chases close together. Its not supported at the top as its just an internal partition wall, and is effectively the short length on a 'L' shape if that makes sense. The long wall dividing the bathroom and bedroom is the long length of the 'L'. Short part is the end of the bathroom where the door is and also the entrance way/door to the bedroom on the other side. I'm not sure what is below. So next to the door is the tap end of the bath now (it was moved from other end of room) with shower over it and bath screen.

We have various cracks in the bedroom plaster behind the wallpaper now - vertical, following the bathroom refurb as they hacked all of the plaster off as well with hammer and bolster, which impacted on the lightwieght thermal block wall, so some of the blocks cracked through and vibration also cracked plaster on the other side (ie in the bedroom). This horizontal crack could also be result of that?

Anyway we are pretty unhappy with what has been done, but not much we can do about it now apart from ensuring the structure is not going to get any worse. Is there anything we should/could do re this hairline horizontal crack? I've not stripped off the wallpaper to inspect more closely yet as didn't really want to redecorate the bedroom.

It could well be the shower door pulling on the wall, but I would have thought that would cause some cracking higher up?

The whole refurb has been a nightmare and keep findning more worries!