Cracked brick wall, suspect foundation moving, any structural engineer to recommend in Sydney ?

Bought a house without B&P in Sydney, now find cracks in external wall. silly silly silly !

Any one can recommend a good structural engineer in Sydney ?

double/split story, full brick PPOR has vertical cracks in brick walls right from the bottom to the very top, near corners of walls. So far around 2 mm wide. No internal cracks yet.

 

Which area?

 

Is it "Possible" the cracks have been there since not long after the house was constructed, all part of settling, that the previous owners just ignored it, never painted etc?

 

Very common like this out west. You say vertical. Is it straight up and down (a little scary) or somewhat diagonal?
FYI Urutek won't waste time on a house with cracks under 5mm - or is it 5cm? I've forgotten but they like 'em big and scary. Either way, 2mm is not much to brag about. Photo?

 

it is straight up and down !

 

No idea though. have not got faintest idea when it occurred.

 

Homebush

 

Why don't you get a builder to do an inspection now, then. They are the devil's advocate and will give you the worst news possible. Then it'll start to get better from there ....

 

Should I use a structural engineer or a builder ? I thought builder may or may not has conflict of interest or not so conflict of interest there. I read it somewhere else on whirlpool saying it is better to use structural people.

 

I don't know but structural engineers are pretty evasive, from my limited exerience. And probably cost a fortune and get very involved. Builders tend to have a common sense approach and are more available. I'd still want to know if there's anything else been missed. I would think of it as a way of saying sorry to yourself.
If the builder tells you to get a structural engineer, I'd look at Urutek and other such companies first before making a firm decision on what to do next.
Might not have to do anything.

 

2mm or 2cm ... 2 mm , you call that a crack ...

How old is the house ?

Cracks in Sydney are pretty common . especially if it's clay.

I'd look at a building inspector to inspect it . Paid on an hourly basis. If that's all they do , they're not there to generate money from you by recommending work they're not going to do. ...

I always remember a house we saw in rhodes 30 odd years ago . Had major structural cracks in the middle of the house with the centre part needing underpining . Saw it a year later when it went back on the market and having seen it before I could tell that all they'd done was fill the cracks .

Our down sizer is some 80 years old and has a couple of decent cracks , one around 1 cm in back wall and some cracking across internal walls. We'll get a building inspector in and get advice on what we need to do.

My parents last house had some decent cracks due to inadequate foundations . they had additional piers put in and where needed the existing piers were replaced with adjustable metal piers . think it cost around 20 K .

Cliff

 

Definitely an ingunear. Cracks are a concern as they're vertical but very small.

How close to the corners of the building?

Could just be detailing - lack of expansion joint. So a sawcut and expansion joint ties laid into the joints or it may require crack stitching if the crack is caused by settlement.

 

one thing I've noticed in the past , on the forum is there seems to be much more emphasis placed on reactive soils in Melbourne and Brisbane compared with Sydney .

A quick google search provides much more info from melb and Brissie sources.

Is Sydney a more stable place ...

Cliff

 

has anyone had experience with this method ?

How to fix cracks in your house walls | Uretek

Cliff

 

Sydney is full clay, the old house had no joints hence you get cracking.

If iwas you kamgaroo I would just monitor it for a year or two before calling anyone. Like Westoz said they might have been there for years.

 

Another vote for a structural engineer in. Most importantly they will identify the cause of cracking..

adding articulation to the external brick (assuming its just a veneer?) is just one type of remedial fix and won't address the cause of movement.

from a quick google search, this is the type of guy you need (i have no affiliation with the company) John Forrest | Forrest Engineering Solutions
Expect $800-1.3k for a comprehensive report with specific recommendations. You get what you pay for..

 

What is "full clay" ? is the opposite to reactive clay ?

 

Meant to say full of clay...blame the tablet.

 

The cracks are about 1/2 brick length from the corners.

 

I personally don't worry about cracks (only the plumber's - "oi, lift ya dacks up or I'll park my bike there!").

I just don't like the idea of keeping building professionals on high incomes (lol - apologies to all in that field)

All my properties have cracks - large and small . I would only be concerned if I visited my IP one day and found part of the property scattered across the lawn.

I'd be doubly concerned if I then saw a pair of legs sticking out of the rubble.....how do I get "it" into the boot of my car without anyone noticing? So far that hasn't happened nor have I heard of it happening.

My 2c.