Think I may have to split this into multiple posts – the site doesn;t seem to like it if I post it all in one…

When you live somewhere for any length of time you get used to the little quirks, until something makes you realise that what you see every day may not be right. That’s happened to me and as a bit of a numpty when it comes to construction I’ve realised it’s time to consuit the all-knowing oracle that is the STW forum in an attempt to find out how urgent it is that I get in someone who knows what they’re talking about and can sort the issues without fleecing me for every penny. I’ve no problems with paying for someone to do a proper job, but I want to be sure that I’m paying a fair price for a job that does need to be done.

So, here’s the house and the things I’ve noted

It’s a basic 3-bed semi built in 1959, with the staircase on the outside and the party wall being in the living area. When built it had a through lounge / diner, but that was bricked up and made in to two separate rooms by the previous owner. It’s been extended at least twice, it looks like a through-garage was built, that was then converted when the rear half was made in to the new kitchen. A second storey was added (and a third at the rear with a loft conversion) later than the original, maybe when the kitchen was moved.

This is what it looks like from the front

Ground floor: We see the box window of the front lounge, next to the recessed front door, with the garage on the far side. Above the front lounge is the front bedroom again with the box window, the the box room. The front wall here is above the void of the front door recess. The master bedroom is on the far side above the garage

ISSUE 1: DAMP
The main issue here is a bit of damp. On the ground floor it’s in the area next to the front entrance, down at floor level. I think this is an external wall, in the recess. Until recently, there was an armchair in the location directly in front of the damp patch

ISSUE 1a: MORE DAMP
On the first floor,there’s again damp at floor level, though this time on the external wall. The ikea cupboard has been in place for several years, until recently there were a couple of lever-arch A4 folders in that space

ISSUE 2: hairline cracks suggest movement?

Back downstairs in the front lounge, I’ve also noticed hairline cracks in the plaster, roughly in line with the “box” window. Externally this is faced with tiles, I think the construction between the lower and upper window frames is wooden based on what I’ve seen when neighbours had someone doing something to theirs over summer

Not pictured, there are also hairline cracks in a similar position above either side of the first floor box window

Moving to the rear of the house, we see (Left to right) on the ground floor, the kitch in the extension, the dining area in the box window which formed the original kitchen, and the rear lounge. Left to right on the first floor we see the master and en suite above the kitchen, the bathroom in the centre, and the rear bedroom above the rear lounge. You can also see the workroom in the attic conversion with the weird conservatory roof.

ISSUE 3 – Heavy cracks in the rear lounge and rear bedroom

Rear Lounge, ground floor

This is upper corner of the room on the external wall. The black speaker is mounted on the party wall

Rear bedroom, first floor

Again, the cracks are on the external wall

In the rear bedroom, the cracks in the plaster extend to the ceiling (the orginal attic above) and then further back to the party wall and the chimney stack (previous occupants removed the fireplace from the front lounge and the chimney stack from the front bedroom)

Downstairs, there are also some cracks in the dining area which formed the original kitchen. These cracks are in what would have been the original external wall and seem to extend up to the box extension,

Part 2 – problems continued

ISSUE 4 – Damp around the door in the rear lounge

As it says, the peeling paint suggests we may have damp in this area, I’ve been in the crawl space underneath this and the floor is sandy and bone dry.

ISSUE 5 – cracks around the ceiling in the master bedroom

In the extension, I’ve seen cracks where the ceiling meets the stud walls boxing in the en-suite in the rear of the building, and also to a lesser extent (not pictured) where the ceiling meets the original external wall in the front half (the master runs full depth front to back). There’s also a crack next to the rear window.

ISSUE 6 – cracks around the log burner

This is more likely to be due to the heat of the log burner, I think? The recess was boxed in with fireboard and then plastered (hopefully with the right kind of fireproof plaster) when we had the original Baxi open fire with back boiler taken out and a log burner put in.

So, which of these is important and needs to be sorted first by an expert? Some of the cracks are barely visible in the photographs (you should be able to click through and zoom in for a bigger view I think) but they are there. Is it just plaster drying out? Most of the plaster work was done about 14 years ago when we moved in. Or could it be settlement? I’m really hoping it’s nothing more serious than that. If it does need to be looked at, who do I get in? A builder, a plasterer, an engineer? I’m in Marple just outside Stockport if there’s someone on here who can recommend themselves / a trusted person?

I don’t think I’m overthinking this, it probably does all need looking at, I just hope I haven’t left it too long.

Cheers inadvance if you’ve taken the time to read this far, hopefully I’ll get some meaningful and sensible replies which will give me something I can get on with, in amongst the usual less serious replies

Our previous house was an Edwardian detached house with an extension on the back from the 1970s. In those days, the medium density blocks used for building weren’t thermally stable so they expanded and contracted during the year meaning that cracking in the plaster is inevitable. We had cracks in the plaster from the top corner of each window in the back wall to the corner of the ceiling. Speaking to a surveyor once, he said that cracks only start becoming a concern when bits start falling off and you can get your hand into them!

Oh that’s good to hear (in a way), I’m very much hoping that’s the case – but house was built 1959 so not quite shoddy 70’s workmanship. Maybe the crappy blocks were first used in the (late) 50s?

The cracks don’t look significant from these photos IMHO. As a rule of thumb <5 mm shouldn’t be a problem.

A relative of mine works for a large construction company and he says that their insurance company won’t even come out to look at cracks unless the gaps are over 10mm wide.

As mentioned, not all cracks are caused by subsidence.

You can get hairline cracks due to thermal movement, especially differential thermal movement. Cementitious plasters are very stiff and prone to hairline cracks.

Are then any cracks in the brickwork on the outside? If not then lining paper is a jolly fine thing.
If there are then worth getting it checked as wall ties sometimes fail. You can get new ones put it (it’s been done on our house). They drill through the bricks and glue stainless rods in to replace the ties, then repoint. If you Google it you’ll see the typical cracks which look horrendous from the outside. I think you’d have noticed them from the far end of a large garden without your specs on so you’re probably OK.
If not then probably lining paper, caulk and some paint.
Other opinions may be more alarmist. If you ask a structural engineer they usually point out that things don’t fall over very often.

@slowol

Hold your horses on diagnosing wall-tie failure lol. I don’t see the signs of this on the elevation photos. One would expect to see horizontal cracks in the mortar bed roughly every 450 mm vertically if they were badly corroding, and failed ties would lead to bulging outer-leafs.

What I meant was that unless you can see large cracks on the outside like those described by @i_scoff_cake then there is unlikely anything to worry about, apart from minor decorating frustrations.

I think your house looks fine.

Some of your damp may be due to poor uPVC unit installation, when was it done? Some of the cheaper 80’s stuff will be well past its design life by now.

agree the cracks are unlikely to be serious, and can be sanded/caulked/hidden relatively easily.

id be more bothered about finding where the damps coming from before it gets worse. have you had a decent look at your roof tiles/flashing, guttering and pointing?

None of that looks unexpected for a house built in the 50s. The damp doesnt look excessive although if it bothers you, you could try and identify the cause. Sometimes the cost of rectifying it is out of kilter with the benefit it brings. The keeping those areas free of stored items and well ventilated and see if that helps. Check for heating pipework leaks in that area and check the rainwater goods to see if they’re letting water soak the wall regularly. Do the easy things first.

The cracks in the wall, as others have said it depends if anything is visible on the external wall. If it is, can you identify the width of the cracks and direction as that will help diagnose potential causes. They look small though so I wouldnt be sitting worrying that anything’s about to collapse unless they’ve only just rapidly appeared which I doubt.

Any history of mining subsidence in the area? Are other properites nearby similarly affected?

https://www.mindat.org/loc-379417.html

Damp in corners and other cold spots is just condensation.

If it makes you feel any better my house was built in 1895 and we have cracks and damp like that appear all the time. I figure it’s stayed up so far it probably won’t fall down tomorrow.

If you can get a well recommended builder to come have a look that will help. I’d probably caution against a specialist damp expert as they will definitely tell you you have a damp problem.

Our house was built in 1959 I think.
We have lived here for 10 years and have cracks in every room I can think of; most of them in the top corners.
We have had several rooms replastered while decorating and these are showing cracks in the same places.

I think the house moves as the weather changes. The plasterer we use told us that the concrete lintels were cast in place and cracks emanating from them are common.

It doesn’t sound serious. I’m sending you an email.

What ventilation do you have, especially in the room with the burner? Can’t see any trickle vents on the windows, or in the brickwork.

Our house was built in 1959 I

1952 here. Cracks appearing in the same places even after cross battoning and reboarding.

Given up caring.

Nice curtains!

None of it looked bad to me, looks similar to my old house

You could try a positive pressure ventilation system to help with the damp/ mold (if house is appropriate, worked wonders for us

ISSUE 2: hairline cracks suggest movement?

Back downstairs in the front lounge, I’ve also noticed hairline cracks in the plaster, roughly in line with the “box” window. Externally this is faced with tiles, I think the construction between the lower and upper window frames is wooden based on what I’ve seen when neighbours had someone doing something to theirs over summer

Used to own a similar style house to this. It had a larger bay window construction and larger cracks. We got it checked out professionally. It was absolutely nothing to worry about – the construction is basically wood butted onto the side of the house and some movement is inevitable. I just kept a close eye on the exterior and made sure no water was getting in and everything was watertight.

Damp around the door – I’d check and replace the seals on the door and the mastic around the door frame.

Tbh nothing in your pics looks that concerning.

1930s semi with lots of cracks in the plaster like yours. I’ve always put it down to the clay sub-soil contracting and expanding over the seasons, but I might be totally wrong.
Nothing to worry about.

Looks just like house to me.

I would look into the damp first. Windows, gutters etc to find the source.

Damp is just condensation due to lack of ventilation and air circulation. Hence why it’s in areas where furniture is close to the walls.

The damp patches all seem to be in corners that are colder. Its likely its condensation. I think there is a test you can do, taping plastic over the areas and then see if condensation form on top of the plastic.

However, we need more pictures of your quirky conservatory poking out of the roof, looks epic!

Nothing to worry about. General run of the mill stuff. Expansion cracks mainly I would think. Open windows and get some ventilation going. Warm humid air from living areas going upstairs and condensing in dead end spaces where the walls are slightly colder. Check surface water drainage and gutters etc.

The formula when it comes to houses is how long has it stood like that? and how old are you?

If age of house is > your age then **** it, it’s your children/niece/nephew/dogs home’s problem.

You say cracks = movement. Sure, but moving and moved are very different beasts. A hairline crack in something 60 years old, your wall isn’t likely to be falling off. If it gets longer or wider, that’s when I’d start to worry. In fact, that’s when I’d paint over it and then move.

Damp is usually either a ventilation issue or water tracking from somewhere weird. Ie,

What ventilation do you have, especially in the room with the burner? Can’t see any trickle vents on the windows, or in the brickwork.

☝☝ this. Folk hermetically seal their houses because Draughts then wonder why the walls are wet through.

Cracks like that, especially starting at the corner of a doorway or window are basically par for the course. It’s why aircraft doors and windows have rounded corners. Drill a 1/4 or bigger hole at end of crack, scrape out and fill. If you are really worried, tape a piece of cardboard to each side of the crack so they overlap at the crack. Put a mark across both pieces. Monitor. If the marks end up 1/2 or more apart investigate further. Otherwise patch.

Where the damp is I’d say it’s poor circulation/ventilation. Stick a bit of 6 mil vapour barrier to the wall with sealing tape. If you get water behind it, you’ve got moisture ingress. If you get moisture on it, you’ve got poor ventilation. Given it’s low, where air cools and can’t hold the moisture, and in corners I’d say the latter. If you seal the house well you may need an hrv or exhaust fan to change the air.

spooky_329 – That weird room in the attic, is my curtain making workroom. We call it the turret. The previous owner wanted it double height, but of course the plans were scuppered by neighbours (rightly so).
That is another worry as this turret has a conservatory style roof. I need to make a decision to leave it or put a proper tiled roof on, which will make the room quite dark. Probably the only answer to that is to put some velux windows into the roof at the front.
As most old conservatories it sometimes leaks and it cold in winter and hot in summer.

If it helps my house is 400 years old and has (bar the damp) exactly the same problems as yours. Hasn’t fallen down yet.

Damp is just condensation due to lack of ventilation and air circulation. Hence why it’s in areas where furniture is close to the walls.

This.

Everything else seems to have been covered…. Nothing to worry about, just a bit annoying.

The damp by the door looks like salts being pulled out of the brickwork – you can seal that with certain paints.

I reckon that old caravan in the drive is likely to have more damp than your house!

These are the ones that’re concerning me. My house had fairly serious subsidence in 2019 and the cracks started like this.

Are there any trees nearby? Have you found that any windows/doors needed adjusting?

I would get somebody (not your insurer) to investigate.

I reckon that old caravan in the drive is likely to have more damp than your house!

Had that sorted in autumn at some expense 🙁

My house has similar cracks and damp.

Putting the heating on has all but cured the damp.

The cracks i would fill and paint over and see if they return. then get worried.

Houses do move. Ove the last few years weve had significant extremes of dry summers and wet winters respectively.

I would get somebody (not your insurer) to investigate.

Unless there’s a corresponding crack on the outside then this is not really required, because :

Houses do move. Ove the last few years weve had significant extremes of dry summers and wet winters respectively.

☝️ This.

sharkbait
Unless there’s a corresponding crack on the outside then this is not really required, because

Houses do move. Ove the last few years weve had significant extremes of dry summers and wet winters respectively.

The crack in the first pic looks about 1mm. On my house the visible cracks in the plaster were this size, but were actually far larger underneath. And you still could not easily see them on the outside of the walls.

Houses do move, and that’s fine. What **** them up is when one side/corner moves more than the rest. This is what is concerning me about those diagonal cracks. They are exactly what I had from a tree drying out the soil under one corner of my house.

This is why I am suggesting to get somebody who knows what they are talking about to look at it.

It’s all well and good saying “its not a problem”. Loads of people said that to me. But it was a problem and sorting it earlier would have meant less damage to the house.

If it makes you feel any better my house was built in 1895 and we have cracks and damp like that appear all the time. I figure it’s stayed up so far it probably won’t fall down tomorrow.

Snap (1897).