Very suspicious subsidence looking cracks 3 months after purchase

[Perfectlyadjusted]

ok everyone,

I'm VERY worried about cracks that have appeared where my walls and ceiling meets, along the ceiling etc, mostly internally. I thought at first it was the new paint job and works they had done just settling, but now I think it is more. I don't know for sure. I am thinking about my next steps. It's a terraced house, in a, historically clay area.

I have emailed my conveyancer just to get his thoughts on what the seller did disclose etc. But around the areas of these many bloody cracks, there is filler, and new paint has been applied - looks very very much like a cover up.

What would you do next if you have any knowledge, expertise or experience in this area?

I am insured. I just aaaarrrrrrgggggghhhhhh!

How old is the property? What are the works that have been done? How big are the cracks? Photo if poss

Did you have a survey done? Did that show anything?

If they are along where the wall and ceiling meet are thin and straight(ish) then it is plaster work expanding and contracting in heat (settlement). It is not uncommon for someone to do a quick paint job to cover those sorts of cracks up before selling and they are (generally) cosmetic and one of those things.

Are there cracks on the external wall that match the internal cracks? Are any of the cracks running diagonally from windows or doors? That would indicate a bigger problem.

Even if bigger you would go via insurance and they would want to monitor for a period.

What did your survey say?

@StatesOfMatter

If they are along where the wall and ceiling meet are thin and straight(ish) then it is plaster work expanding and contracting in heat (settlement). It is not uncommon for someone to do a quick paint job to cover those sorts of cracks up before selling and they are (generally) cosmetic and one of those things.

Are there cracks on the external wall that match the internal cracks? Are any of the cracks running diagonally from windows or doors? That would indicate a bigger problem.

Even if bigger you would go via insurance and they would want to monitor for a period.

This.

If it's just hairline cracks they do come back through plaster and paint (I know, I've suffered with these). And typical at joins, and even in the middle of walls - if they are hairline and fairly straight it's most likely just normal plaster cracking. It happens, it's unsightly, but it's not subsidence.

Post a pic OP

It sounds like truss uplift. This is where the wooden roof trusses contract in the colder weather and pull the ceiling upwards away from the wall. You usually see it on internal walls upstairs. There is not much you can do really, as it would be due to the way the house was built (trusses coupled to the ceilings).

You could try and find a caulk with a bit of flexibility to it and fill the gaps during the winter. Over the summer they will squish down again and become less visible.

We had it in a previous house and it was an ugly pain, but nothing sinister structurally.

Flexible caulk deals with all kinds of things, as does coving, but really we need a photo

ok, I'm at work, but I will post pics when I'm home.

I hope to God man of you are right and they are nothing severe. My life is so stressy right now, this might push me over the edge into AT LEAST one glass of Lidl 3.90 Hungarian wine per night, if not more......

Love that Hungarian wine. Currently using it to help cope with our builders .

Tell me more about the Hungarian wine. ...
Red, white, dry, fruity?