Home buyers Vs Building Survey

[PraiseBee]

We're looking to purchase a house built in the 80s so were going to proceed with a home buyers survey. On our second visit to the house, we noticed a crack in an external wall. Crack is from ground to bottom of ground floor window. Should we therefore look to get a full building survey? When I rang the surveying company they weren't that helpful. I'm not entirely clear on what the differences are between the two survey types apart from being 'more detailed' (& expensive)

Having just had two structural and one homebuyers on three different but same aged houses, I'd go for the homebuyers. I got as much if not more information and they were as much trained as the other - I'm not sure if this is technically true, but any surveyor with any experience should recognise whether a crack is just normal settling or something more serious.
If it is something more they are quite likely to advise you to get a specialist structural engineer to look at it. All surveys seem very good at wording their reports to cover their butts if they miss something.

I will definitely get the full building survey next time. Especially if there is a crack! If nothing else, it means you are morenlikely to know what might come up when you eventually sell.

Thanks both for replies. Would a full building survey potentially recommend a further investigative building survey if there were concerns about the crack? Would the full building survey not cover it?