Should I be worried about cracks in my walls?
It’s a question many property owners will ask themselves.
Settling cracks are almost inevitable in many new homes and while they aren’t ideal on your freshly painted walls, there is often very little to be concerned about as long as they aren’t significantly worsening.
Houses by their nature are rigid structures and most houses will develop cracks of varying degrees and it is in fact quite unusual if not impossible to find a house that does not have some form of cracking.
Cracking can occur for many reasons, including initial drying out of materials, minor inevitable settlement and variations in temperature that can give rise to expansion and contraction of building materials. In this respect, some materials are prone to shrinkage on heating while others are prone to expansion, all of which gives rise to movement and in some cases inevitable cracking. For example, one can often hear creaking in a property when the heating system is turned on or off.
It is generally accepted that it takes a house 12 to 18 months to reach a state of equilibrium so if you’ve got a new build don’t be alarmed if you notice some cracks within the first year or so, particularly if there is no change in the years afterwards.
If you are concerned you can contact a chartered surveyor to assess it for you to carry out a detailed review and advise as to whether or not there is a real concern and as to whether or not there is a need for any further monitoring or remedial works.
