Settlement cracks/something serious?

[YouCrackMeUp]

I live in a Victorian terrace in London.

Since the summer I’ve noticed a few cracks appearing ... 1st plasterboard hairline cracks, now 1 in exterior bricks (a diagonal crack front door to windowsill), an interior door misaligned, and now a fairly big crack around window frame which has JUST appeared

Am wondering what’s going on? My 2 neighbours have told me they have had similar, do not appear to be very concerned..

House is on market so expect my buyers’ survey to pick up... Can I claim on my building insurance if in middle of a sale?

Thanks for the comments - it sounds like I need to investigate further

But the point the earlier poster was making is that only time will tell if this is an ongoing problem. It's not about insurance companies being tardy, it's about the need to assess movement over time. The first thing a surveyor will suggest will be monitoring for an extended period via 'tells' to see how the cracks progress. OP, you might be best starting the process off and seeing if your buyer will take it on. Subsidence is not the big deal it once was, especially in London, as treatment for it is now better and cheaper and Insurance Companies are more relaxed about it.

Hi OP, you might find that the bay needs underpinning as they very often don't have sufficient foundations. Sounds bad, but a lot better than total subsidence! Friends of ours had this problem with their Victorian villa and actually did the remedial work themselves - competent DIYers, not builders. I'd definitely get a survey done for your own peace of mind though 👍🏼

Hi OP, did you make a decision on getting your own survey done?

Hello - I spoke to a friend’s husband who is in the building trade a few days later, showed him areas of concern on video, & he was adamant that this was temperature fluctuations so I haven’t organised surveyor/contacted insurance (I think I was feeling really anxious about the potential move)

He asked various questions - eg cracks are in mortar not through bricks, so seems very sure, which has me less worried

If anything comes back on my buyers survey I will look into my options but based on his assessment I’m a bit less worried

Thanks everyone for the comments earlier: these are really helpful re getting to bottom of this/how to proceed given I’m selling

That's good to hear! We are about to put our 170 year old terraced on the market and I'm terrified about what a survey might throw up and how easy things are remedied, hense my interest in your situation. I keep waking up at night from dreams about it