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Show us yer house and house-related meddlings

teuchter said:
What kind of cracks are they?
Click to expand...
Being me, I've been panicking and googling the S word, but I imagine it's more likely to be an issue with the bay.

This is the middle tier of the bay. Downstairs is my living room which is fine and the upstairs neighbour says hers has a bit of a crack at the top on one side but she thinks it's always been there.

I remember the downstairs bay needed some work done before I moved in.

There are these corresponding ones either side under the window.

PXL_20230317_083034355.jpg

PXL_20230317_083000382~2.jpg

One of these, there looks to be a bit of a crack on the outside, but not the other.

PXL_20230317_083153362.jpg

Also on wall to the left of the bay is this, which I'm less worried about as the crack is not big.

PXL_20230317_083052536.jpg

Lastly there's this over the right side of the bay which in itself isn't particularly worrying I don't think.

PXL_20230317_083014826.jpg
 
What you can see on the outside, I'd say is more than just cosmetic, it does suggest something has moved. However if it's not getting bigger, and if you think some work was done on the downstairs bay recently, then it may well be that it's stabilised. So I would keep an eye on it and only worry if you see it getting bigger. Keep the photos you've taken just now, so you have something to compare with. If you want to be thorough take a photo of the external crack with a ruler against it.

If it does get bigger, then if it was me, I think I'd go to a structural engineer rather than a surveyor because the surveyor might just say "consult a structural engineer".

Regardless of whether there's anything structural to worry about, it's worth getting the external brickwork repointed around that crack because it'll be providing a route for water to get into the wall, which you definitely don't want.

I'm not a structural engineer, the above is simply what I'd do, if the house falls down it's not my fault, etc etc.
 
teuchter said:
What you can see on the outside, I'd say is more than just cosmetic, it does suggest something has moved. However if it's not getting bigger, and if you think some work was done on the downstairs bay recently, then it may well be that it's stabilised. So I would keep an eye on it and only worry if you see it getting bigger. Keep the photos you've taken just now, so you have something to compare with. If you want to be thorough take a photo of the external crack with a ruler against it.

If it does get bigger, then if it was me, I think I'd go to a structural engineer rather than a surveyor because the surveyor might just say "consult a structural engineer".

Regardless of whether there's anything structural to worry about, it's worth getting the external brickwork repointed around that crack because it'll be providing a route for water to get into the wall, which you definitely don't want.

I'm not a structural engineer, the above is simply what I'd do, if the house falls down it's not my fault, etc etc.
Click to expand...
This seems like balanced advice 👍

As the internal cracks have been filled before, possibly several times, I'll probably just fill and paint then.

Then I haven't ignored it but I can get on with the project at hand without unleashing a chain of events.

My (very superficial) reading around subsidence was quite enlightening though. One link (from an insurance company) said to tell your insurance company as soon as you suspect, and another (from a homeowners association) said don't tell them till you've had it confirmed, because they sometimes put premiums up just for having an investigation, even if it was negative.

Also underpinning isn't necessarily the outcome. It's often pruning /felling a tree or unblocking a drain, or they can pump resin into the foundations now.

(I have cleared a drain at the front in case - but I still think it's more likely to be just the bay anyway).
 
Our house has a decking area in the garden. The wood is stained dark, and is generally not in a great aesthetic; so I thought I'd give it a once over with a pressure washer. That'll sort it, right?

It didn't really do much apart from scuff up some of the surface. But by then I'd committed in my head to making our garden look lovely and inviting.

So long story short, 6 hours on my hands and knees with a sander later:

20230408_153217.jpg
 
Can’t help noticing mauvais doesn’t seem to have done any house meddling in a good while despite his incitements of the urban massive.

Pretty sus if you ask me. :hmm:
 
My partner is boarding out the loft with so far found or free materials. He noticed there were boards at his work that came with deliveries that had no purpose so he started to bring home with intention to sound proof the garage. He brought them home & realised they would be perfect for boarding the loft. Then he found a stack of old decking wood in the alleyway out the back & got cracking on the messy job.

Going to get a quote for a new loft hatch, stairs & light & longer term a velux window.

He noticed a few others at work take the boards too so he waits his turn. It’s been many months to get to a decent amount.

In our last house we paid for the loft which was massive to be boarded out, new hatch , stairs & light which I think was £1200 in 2014 but would be nowhere near that now. That was completed by 2 men in about 6 hrs!
 
moonsi til said:
My partner is boarding out the loft with so far found or free materials. He noticed there were boards at his work that came with deliveries that had no purpose so he started to bring home with intention to sound proof the garage. He brought them home & realised they would be perfect for boarding the loft. Then he found a stack of old decking wood in the alleyway out the back & got cracking on the messy job.

Going to get a quote for a new loft hatch, stairs & light & longer term a velux window.

He noticed a few others at work take the boards too so he waits his turn. It’s been many months to get to a decent amount.

In our last house we paid for the loft which was massive to be boarded out, new hatch , stairs & light which I think was £1200 in 2014 but would be nowhere near that now. That was completed by 2 men in about 6 hrs!
Click to expand...

I love that your partner brings home useful stuff from work.
Mine brought home a mould for making chocolate rabbit bottoms.
 
Zapp Brannigan said:
Our house has a decking area in the garden. The wood is stained dark, and is generally not in a great aesthetic; so I thought I'd give it a once over with a pressure washer. That'll sort it, right?

It didn't really do much apart from scuff up some of the surface. But by then I'd committed in my head to making our garden look lovely and inviting.

So long story short, 6 hours on my hands and knees with a sander later:

View attachment 370044
Click to expand...
Is the fence/railing there fro a reason..?
 
Bloody fence fell down again, tho it is made up predominantly of old wardrobe doors so thats back up again, trimmed absolutely everything back and trying to restore the pond, unfortunately there is a massive Gunnera root chunk or whatever it is going across it, things like 4-5 foot long. Raised beds I wanted are now out of stock, massive pile of logs and mulch on the drive waiting to be used for something. Washing machine and tumbledrier to take apart for firepits, one of which is going badly. Desperately need a bigger car and to do a load of dump runs. Rebuilt the drainage "wall" since we get occasional massive floors through from the field above through a stye so dug that and piled stuff, its more like a 40 foot long compost pile mainly made of old leaves which have broken down.

Bloody rats got into one shed,. cleared them out, someone left the damned door open overnight on the concrete one and now they are in there. Of course its packed as fuck as I have a huge NERF inventory to sell whenever the hell I get round to relisting everything, test it all and see if the modified ones still have lithium batteries still in them.....
 
newme said:
Bloody fence fell down again, tho it is made up predominantly of old wardrobe doors so thats back up again, trimmed absolutely everything back and trying to restore the pond, unfortunately there is a massive Gunnera root chunk or whatever it is going across it, things like 4-5 foot long. Raised beds I wanted are now out of stock, massive pile of logs and mulch on the drive waiting to be used for something. Washing machine and tumbledrier to take apart for firepits, one of which is going badly. Desperately need a bigger car and to do a load of dump runs. Rebuilt the drainage "wall" since we get occasional massive floors through from the field above through a stye so dug that and piled stuff, its more like a 40 foot long compost pile mainly made of old leaves which have broken down.

Bloody rats got into one shed,. cleared them out, someone left the damned door open overnight on the concrete one and now they are in there. Of course its packed as fuck as I have a huge NERF inventory to sell whenever the hell I get round to relisting everything, test it all and see if the modified ones still have lithium batteries still in them.....
Click to expand...

I got a bout of anxiety just reading this. Hope there's an end in sight.
 
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