Cracks in walls following building work.

[vonnyh]

Hi, we had our loft converted nearly 2 years ago. I've noticed a few cracks appearing in the new room, mainly along the party wall where one of the steels was put in. There are also a few minor cracks on the ceiling of the room underneath the loft room. The cracks are where the wall and ceiling meet. Should I be worried, or are these cracks normal after buliding work?

They sound like normal settlement cracks to me. If they are wide cracks it might be worth giving the buider a ring to check, but fine cracks are normal after building work as the house settles.

Thanks for replying. They're not at all wide, in fact you have to look closely to see them. This might be a "piece of string" question, but how long does it take for a house to settle after building work? On average?

I'm not sure exactly but a few years. I know they say you shouldn't tile a floor in a new build for a good few years as they will move and crack. I imagine it is the same with building work.

If you think about it all the wood, plaster board, plaster etc will very slowly dry out over time and thats where they crack along joins. It sounds very normal to me, and i think it is a piece of string job!

You can get something (I think its called decorators caulk) from b&q type places and that is a flexible filler that will allow a bit of movement when you come to redecorate. I would probably leave it a bit longer if this has just happened as there might be a bit more.

A crack will always form at the junction of different materials - ie the floor and wall. That is why cornices were invented to disguise it! Joists shrink by about 3% of their depth over time. Unless your cracks keep getting bigger it all sounds very normal.