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Builders Advice Needed - Loft Converstion & Settling Cracks

13 replies

PavlovtheCat · 06/03/2011 14:33

Does anyone have any building experience or a DH/DP who is a builder who could answer a question for me?

I live in a victorian converted flat, 1st floor and have recently had the loft converted (18 months ago) building regs complied with, eventually but we had a lot of builder trouble before getting to that point.

Can you tell me

How likely settling cracks are after a loft conversion, roughly where we might expect to see these cracks, what size?

If there is any structural compromise as a result of the conversion - what type of cracks would/could appear and where?

TIA

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jeanjeannie · 06/03/2011 22:04

Helloooo! I remember your loft! I'll ask DH for you - I imagine he'll remember it too! Try and give you a shout tomorrow. Hope all is ok Smile

PavlovtheCat · 07/03/2011 08:50

Hey jean yes it is all fine, just some cracks that I want to see if are normal. I think most of them are normal, along with a little more due to change in floor/plasterboard positions when the floor was lowered and then floor re-layed, the cracks seem quite big but they make sense to be and in the locations I would expect. But there are a couple that concern me a little, and I am v paranoid about it all going wrong !

We won in court, in theory. Unfortunately he struck his business off before we got to the final hearing, which was literally just a formality. Shame because the judge told us at the hearing before that, when the 'builder' failed to turn up that he had forfeited his claim against us and the final hearing would be to determine how much to award us Sad. But he has no money this 'builder' so we would never have seen any of it. I was looking forward to slapping a Charge on his house though !

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PavlovtheCat · 07/03/2011 09:06

The cracks that concern me are:

running down the seam of the front room wall and the small bedroom (was once a large front room, split into a bedroom/front room a long time ago) between the outside and the partition wall (same crack) Plaster has cracked in a zigzag straight down. That seems new, rather than old crack re-emerging through the new paint.

Running down the seam between front room partition wall (supporting wall) and large bedroom (other side of front room to other crack). Again zigzag but much smaller. This is definitely not old, as this room has yet to be painted, But has probably been there a year? Another one on other side of the same bedroom, between bedroom and bathroom wall (the seam), quite big zigzag) and I think that one occured when the 'builder' lowered the ceiling and had the new floor resting on the old one, supporting by those supporting joist things (you know the ones that prop up ceilings?).

Very fine hairline crack running down the middle of the chimney breast in the front room - this may be an old one I never noticed but is now coming through the new paint. This has been there a while and does not appear to be getting bigger.

Very fine hair line crack running down the far end of the house right under the end of the main bulding (before the tenement of the house starts, and under the end of the loft converstion, on the big stair drop). Now this crack was always there, but I am not sure if this has got worse, it has come back through the new paint and has been there for a while, but it seems to go down further than it used to. Or it is more noticeable as the hallway is now white, and it used to be a dirty mustard colour (not my choice, already there when we moved!!). Also the plaster seems to have blown around the crack - this is an external wall between mine and next door neighbour, and the wall is solid, except when you tap it around the crack it sounds more hollow and looks a blown.

At the front of the house, outside, there is a crack above the front door, in the coving (is that the right word? ornate plaster edging around the door). This might, or might not have always been there. It looks dirty, suggesting it is old, but it is also quite deep. Not sure if this is significant or that is is simply the coving needing refreshing. A couple of other cracks like this. Might have always been there I just never noticed as the outside has always needed a freshen up.

It is an old house (c1890). Some of the cracks were definitely already there, some are new, some might have got a little worse. Some I have only just noticed but might have been there a while, some since conversion 18months ago.

I mostly feel this is ok, but there is a slight panic/sick feeling when I look at them, and I am about to call the builder who rescued us to come and take a look, see what he says.

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PavlovtheCat · 07/03/2011 09:09

"Very fine hairline crack running down the middle of the chimney breast in the front room - this may be an old one I never noticed but is now coming through the new paint. This has been there a while and does not appear to be getting bigger" just been considering this - can't be the case as the chimney breast was re-plastered (by a trainee plasterer though) while we had building work going on in the loft, so must be new, although new could be 1 year old.

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LadyBiscuit · 07/03/2011 09:17

No experience of loft converting but I had my basement flat damp proofed last year and they hacked off all the plaster back to brick, put the DPC in and replastered over the top. I got quite a few hairline cracks on most of the walls which I just assumed were as the plaster dried out completely.

PavlovtheCat · 07/03/2011 09:46

Thanks ladybiscuit, that would probably account for the front room chimney breast then, as we painted over it after about 2 months, so maybe not long enough?

The other cracks though, they are not over new plaster, they are on old walls. There are lots of cracks on new plaster, and I am not too concerned about those ones (sort of by-product of a shite builder lets say!) as they are in the joins of plasterboard, its the ones on the original walls underneath that bother me i guess.

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jeanjeannie · 07/03/2011 21:09

DH has read through it and he says it's normal for fine cracks to appear, especially when the plaster is covering two different materials meeting each other. He didn't take in a sharp intake of breath at anything you said Grin
Apparently there shouldn't be a structual compromise if the engineer has done his job right. I think you went through all that and had it double checked and passed didn't you? If so, DH would rule that out. It may be as you said - you're much more aware now of any little crack.

Sorry about his wriggling through at the last hurdle Sad Cor - I felt for you. I often wonder if he'll be on Rogue Traders or something of that ilk!

If in doubt though with any of the cracks check with a builder - you trust! Smile Sorry can't be of more help!

cakeforbrains · 08/03/2011 10:49

We did an extension last year and our builder told us to expect cracks in the plaster to appear for up to 2yrs while everything dried out and settled. It's frustrating to see where walls that we decorated last year now need painting again, but we're trying to live with it until the 2yrs is up so they don't crack further.

PavlovtheCat · 08/03/2011 14:55

oh good! Yes it is all passed, the building inspector was concerned mostly with the hanging beam and the builder who came and saved us sorted that out, and the building inspector was happy with what he had done and passed it. And he said that the beam would not have been dangerous if not fixed 'most likely' not have caused the floor to cave in, but better to be properly secured, which it now is.

The fine cracks though, they are on old plaster, below the loft conversion, rather than in the conversion itself? I am glad he did not give a sharp intake! I have mostly put it down to settling etc, but then a friend looked at some of it and was like Shock although the bits he was shocked about was normal according to the builder who fixed it all.

I shall take some photos and keep an eye. Can you tell your DH thanks?

Oh cakeforbrains 2 years?! oh phew, well that makes me feel better, as it has been 18 months, so good to hear not unusual!

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PavlovtheCat · 08/03/2011 15:02

problem with the engineer is that the 'builder' pretty much took his calculations and well, tossed them away so to speak! The engineer himself had to question the 'builder's' workings out, and drew him a diagram on the floor upstairs to show him how to work a particular thing out that he had done wrong. The steels were passed fine, and the floor generally was passed once ripped up and re-layed.

I guess i just worry that something was missed due to the significant ineptitude of the 'builder'.

Good thing to come from this is that we are on good terms with the lovely builder who fixed it all for us, he has done a couple of small jobs to help us out that he would not normally do and is coming in next month to fix our facia, which has caused a leak in the kitchen, and strip/replaster one of our kitchen walls, and this year sometime he is building us new under-stair cupboards (trained as a carpenter before a builder, this is what he enjoys the most) and new ballastrades (were all meant to be done as part of loft conversion but dickhead never completed these).

So every cloud etc...

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iskra · 08/03/2011 15:10

We are buying a house that has an "illegal" loft conversion (not done subject to planning or building regs [sigh]) - survey just came back with a bit of structural stuff to be done - there are visible & quite wide cracks in some of the bedrooms - but the surveyor said that the cracks are probably from the loft "settling" in rather than indicating any problem.

PavlovtheCat · 09/03/2011 08:56

iskra oh that is good to know too. I hope it is the case here then! I could not have done it without building regs guidance, esp glad I did after it all went wrong (horrendous problems) as I would never have been sure it was not going to all come crashing down around us/screw up our neighbouring houses. As it is now I am still nervous even with building regs!

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Dsleiser55 · 21/02/2018 21:22

I had a loft conversion on my bungalow adding 3 bedrooms and a bathroom. Over the downstairs front room a crack has appeared across the ceiling and running into the coving and going down a wall. The conversion was finished about 10/12 years ago. Concerned the crack has appeared now and getting worse. Any suggestions as to why has it been too long for it to be settling cracks

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