Cracky house!

[Pizzatrip]

Hello hive!

I viewed a property this morning that has numerous cracks in the plaster (almost entirely upstairs). There’s no cracks visible outside. The house has been empty for a year and backs onto a railway (if that makes a difference). All floors seem level and doors all close properly etc.

Obviously I’d get a full survey if we were to proceed, but I’d be keen to hear your thoughts? Would you run for the hills, or does it look maybe ok? It’s a detached 60s/70s house

Whoops - pics attached

What do the outside walls look like at the same locations?

Do you know what soil type the house is built on ? Any signs of damp ?

Any cracks on outside - particularly outside windows ?

Could be the plaster cracking but with all of these things you have to take the wider picture into account before panicking

What's it built on, any external cracks? They are not insignificant.

Of course only a professional surveyor can diagnose - but, they look identical cracks to the ones in a house I purchased, I paid a fortune for the top surveyor - they were just settlement cracks.

In the OP post, no cracks outside.

Is the house built on clay? About 8 out of 10 postcodes with the most subsidence claims are in London.
How old is the house? Older houses tend to have more shallow foundations.
Does it have a cavity wall or is it solid brick?
Cracking upstairs could be roof spread. Are the walls upstairs bowing out? Has the roof ridge sunk?
It definitely needs a comprehensive structural survey or just run for the hills.

How long ago does it look like it was decorated last?

What are the outside walls like - are they rendered or brick? If brick, does it look like it's been repointed / can you see close up the areas that are outside the interior cracks? They're quite thin cracks and if they're following joints on the outside they might not be particularly noticeable from standing on the ground.

Personally I wouldn’t be interested in that. The odd hairline crack in a ceiling wouldn’t bother me as all houses move slightly over time and it probably just needed a redecorating but those cracks are quite long and big and in strange places. I’d just say not for me thanks.

It’s built on loamy soil, house is 60s/70s, no signs of damp at all. Not entirely sure about bowing/roof ridge sinking but nothing obvious.

Doesnt appear to have been decorated all that recently

Here it is from the outside from 10 years ago from street view. Roof looks ok? Looks the same now. The willow is now gone… conifer is still there.. could they have caused issues?

This is what im hoping for, as it’s a great house in a great area 😫. Obviously don’t want to be an idiot though and end up with a money pit

Yes but are they damp? Those internal cracks could be caused by leaking roof and gutters.

Our house has got shallow/next to no foundations and we get cracks at one end of the house caused by massive lorries thundering down the narrow country lane and literally bouncing the house around.

It meant I got a bargain buying our house (£400k less than guide price!) as everyone else was put off.

It's well worth going ahead with a survey, the worst case would be that they are cause for concern and you won't proceed, but the best case is it's just settlement and you'll have a great house!

You can tell the surveyor in advance that you're concerned and they'll give it a thorough look.

I had (quick) look in the loft and it all looked fine, however the gutter is blocked and there’s a rotten soffit on one corner, so likely the whole thing will need replacing. The cracks aren’t localised to that area.

No signs of damp inside though

Said soffit

Hmm we have what I would call a cracky house (1860s) and ours are nothing like that. I’d be a bit wary of those cracks.

I have a very cracky house, have had two structural surveys and all is sound, however most of the plaster work is end of life which is a big job. My cracks are bigger than yours though!

@Pizzatrip
I believe willows are very thirsty trees so possibly behind the problem. Is the cracking at the back and the front of the house? Willows have long fine root structures and know to cause problems.

Yes, almost entirely at the front. The ex-willow was on the right hand side but most cracks are at the left hand side, by the rotten soffit corner.

We back on to a railway and also have a cracky house (1930s). You can hear the wardrobe doors rattle when a train goes past. When we have replastered some rooms they have integrated some special mesh into the plaster and the cracks haven’t returned (yet!). Our survey came back fine. The cracks drive my husband up the wall, I just don’t see them.

If there are no external cracks and everything seems level inside then they wouldn’t bother me.
I live in an early 1900s house where the door lintels and some of the floors are visibly wonky with diagonal cracks going up from the corners of some doors. A structural engineer surveyed it all and concluded it is just settlement (his words) from different depth foundations. Some walls carry on down to the cellar which obviously has deeper foundations. The cracking is from the natural expansion and contraction of the ground as the water content changes. Plaster is an inflexible material which doesn’t stand up to the building flexing.
It might be worth getting a proper structural survey to put your mind at rest. Mine cost about £500.