Hairline cracks in new house

billyjean

Hi,

I purchased a new house 2 months ago and have noticed that some hairline cracks are starting to come out on the cavity walls. Is this common in a new house and although I have long finished the snag list should the builders who are still working on other houses on the site be responsible to get these fixed. I am worried that the cracks will get bigger.

endplate

Settling cracks perfectly normal will stop after a few more months

Prenderb

Have you brought this to the attention of the builder?
When you say cavity wall, do you mean external or internal wall?

mike65

All houses made of stuff like bricks and mortar with plastered interior walls crack as they settle into position and dry out fully with internal heating.

If you see an external break wider than a few mills then you may have some reason for concern.

Mike.

billyjean

It is on the internal concrete wall where the cracks are appearing. One over the fireplace and one down the side of the wall at the stairs. They are both quite large. i would estimate around 15 inches in length.

mike65

Large as in wide or long. If its a hairline crack then it is just settling/expansion

Mike.

muffler

You will find most hairline/settlement cracks below the corner of the window sills and at the top corners of the windows and doors (internal & external doors).
Usually nothing to wory about but do keep an eye on them to make sure that dont get any wider or develop at the same point on the outer leaf of the cavity wall.

The crack above your fireplace is normal enough unfortunately. Usually down to lighting a fire too soon or having too large a fire on or sometimes its down to lack of packing around the flue liners.

Im not sure about the one you refer to at the stairs. Is there a window or door at that point or is it directly below the top step in the stairs

billyjean

Thanks for the comments. The hairline cracks are long. They are not wide at all. The crack on the inside wall at the stairs is above the top step and leads down the wall. Will I eventually have to use filler or paint to repair or hide these cracks?

Dcully

I too had these cracks in my ceiling. Builder advised us not to paint with expensive paints yet and give house time to settle. Therefore you avoid having to paint twice. You can eventually fill in cracks with filler and then paint with your choice of colours

skye

I have exactly the same problem...some of them have become quite gaping. Have mentioned it to my builder and he said he will come back and fill them for me, so am happy with that. I know he will as he has been excellent with any queries so far. My brother-in-law suggested getting a length of wood edging ( the type you'd use to finish floor edges ) and run this down the edge of the stair bit that is cracked - I assume this is where you mean, then paint it. Saves on the whole filler job....

Sizzler

I have cracks starting at the edge of the stairs running parallel with the architrave, looks like they didnt plaster behind it properly. Builder wont fix it though....grrr