Hi all. I'm sorry to bother you but was just after some advice. I am buying my first house (3 bed semi detached with loft conversion from the 60's) and the home buyers survey has reported several issues. Please can anyone advise on the seriousness, how soon this needs to be actioned and potential costs. Is it a builder I would need to contact,?
Many thanks in advance for any help!
"Some repairs are needed to the Wall surfaces including frost damaged brick work, some repointing and some hair line cracking to mortor joints.
Cracking was noted to the masonry over the window openings which may be due to inadequate lintel support and repair or replacement is necessarily'
.* I just wanted to say a big thank you to everyone who replied for your advice. It is much appreciated!!!
Are you a tradesperson and able to answer this question?
Hard to be absolutely certain here without a visual of course but house buyers reports will always err on the side of caution and in fact read very negatively. That is what you are paying for I suppose. When I read hairline cracks in Mortar joints it suggest to me the surveyor is reaching for something to write and most likely the apparent evidence is no more than expected in a building 80 years old. Ive experiences just recently a surveyor state movement in a bay from foundation sentiment when it was clear that it was due to a 1930s Masonary abutment to timber construction. He was 23 yr grad. starter. Don’t fear the written word sometimes it’s there for effect and to tick the ‘I done a report’ box ! Worst case is a structural engineer plus builder. More likely it will amount to repointing and general Masonary Maintenance.
One note as an epilogue... the loft conversion no doubt is adding a load that was not originally intended In the original 196os build... this is expected and we assume all the paperwork stacks up ref planning and building regs as part of the purchasing process via your solicitor ?
Answered18 July 2019
2
Anonymous user
Dear Laura
The frost damaged bricks will need replacing at some point (the cost of which will depend on their availablity and the number to be replaced).
The crack in the brickwork above the window is probably down to a lack of a lintel which was the way they build in the sixtys( the original timber window would have supported the masonary).
A site visit would be required to be able to give an informative price.
Yours Eric
Hi. The frost damage. Has it just blown the face of the brick, in which case it’s no big drama. The hairline cracks in the mortar joints is easy to remedy, depending on where they start & finish & haven’t carried on through the bricks. As for the cracks above the windows that is usually down to water getting to the lintel & causing it to rust & expand which then cracks the mortar & brickwork.
So the lintels will need replacing. The frost damaged bricks will need replacing & the mortar cracks grinding out & reprinting. Depending how many bricks need changing the length of the mortar cracks & how many lintels plus length of the lintel need changing the job could take from 1 to a few days to sort out. But all are easy jobs to sort out.
Hi! It is not unexpected to see this sort of problem in a house built in 1960 era when building control was not as regulated as now and inspections did not cover as many rules, your house will normally have received a 10 year NHBC certificate but age related items such as you describe are not uncommon,the repairs to the brickwork will require the raking out of the joints and re pointing in similar materials, over window support is more serious and would require the full inspection and refitting of a new lintel depending whether it be a Catnic steel lintel or a concrete lintel which were used in this period of construction and did not require the damproofing that is now necessary. Hope this helps Regards Alan.
