Helping someone .

I bought my house in a auction and knew the house was suffering from some sort of damp problem.

I never had a survey done as there was no mortgage and there was a damp problem.

I have managed to sort that out and will be having a damp course done in a few weeks time.

However now some 16 months on cracks have started to appear on inside walls.

These are vertical ones and are very thin.

I have checked the wall above and because it has wall paper on cannot check if the cracks have gone up.

I did however contact my insurance company who took down the claim an are in the middle of appointing a Surveyor to come out and inspect this.

Do i have anything to worry about if i cannot produce a survey ?

Hopefully Ericsbrother will pop in to help, he may be better placed to guve some help.

Not wise to contact the Insurers at this stage, as the claim will be noted as subsidence and appear on the central insurers database. If it turns out to be settlement due to the damp issues and not subsidence, you need to ask the Insurers to amend the claim peril of subsidence, as it was found to be irrelevant.

Small verticle cracks can appear for a number of reasons. If they run straight, it might just be where plasterboards join. You should have got a builder or surveyor to have a look before contacting Insurers.

Ask yourself questions at to why cracks have appeared now 16 months on. It might just be that cracks were painted over or filled previously and they are just showing. If the cracks are thin and not spreading, it might be nothing to do with subsidence. If you search online for subsidence you will find loads of pictures of what it looks like.

Don't worry about survey and if asked say you did not get one. No knowledge of any defects, apart from a damp issue.

I have seen these cracks. There is a small vertical crack in between the living and reception room . There are also vertical cracks along where there used to be a door and has been filled in by using plaster board. A builder did see this a few days ago and said he could see the middle where sliding doors go bowing down. the cracks are on both sides of the wall and level with each other. They were not there a few weeks ago. The family went on holiday and when they came back they noticed these cracks. The things i get involved in !!!

Could be anything.

Renovations to house including load bearing walls.

Water/drainage leak under the house. Might be worth getting this checked, as water damaging foundations can cause severe costly damage.

How much did you pay for the house?

Vertical cracks can be for several reasons, if concerned get a valuation survey. An Ins claim for subsidence will cost you min £1K for excess payment due.

It doesnt sound like subsidence as people commonly understand it and the lack of survey wont make any difference to an insurance claim as they take a decision based upon the known risks and the lack of survey will be one of the factors in deciding to offer you cover and at what price.

Knowing more about the house would be helpful,

its age,

what it is built out of,

where it is ( geological factors other than subsidence are a massive factor in house settlement/movement),

whether detached,

terrace etc.

If detached or semi detached you can run a laser level along a course of brickwork on the open sides and see if the building slopes in any direction.

Also, get a plan of all of the drains, sewers etc that are near the property.

The council should have a map of these.

A cracked pipe will wash away a lot of soil and subsoil from quite a smell leak over time.

Cracks of less than 5mm wide arent really structural but can point to other problems.

look in the loft at the beams and joists,

roof spreading due to old timbers moving is common and that pushes the walls apart.

Simple to tie them back together with either timber or metal struts.

If there is a loft conversion that may be the cause,

the extra weight and reduced rigidity of the roof and that would mean new steel beams putting in to bolt the roof/walls.

Not as expensive as it sounds

I have seen these cracks. There is a small vertical crack in between the living and reception room . There are also vertical cracks along where there used to be a door and has been filled in by using plaster board. A builder did see this a few days ago and said he could see the middle where sliding doors go bowing down. the cracks are on both sides of the wall and level with each other. They were not there a few weeks ago. The family went on holiday and when they came back they noticed these cracks. The things i get involved in !!!

The cracks above the sliding door area will undoubtedly be due to the lack of, or failing of a lintel above the opening.

Are there further cracks above this position on upper floors?

Cant see if any cracks in walls above. As there is wall paper over them.