NSW Ext. Brickwork crack/Settlement

Discussion in 'Where to Buy' started by twww, 25th Aug, 2019.

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  1. twww

    twww Member

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    Had a quick look outside a Block of units built circa 70's/80's, For Sale, i'm possibly interesting in buying in to.

    These cracks appear on the exterior of the unit itself.

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    How concerning should this?

    Should/can this fault be used in negotiating?

    Thanks.
     
    twww, 25th Aug, 2019
    #1
  2. Scott No Mates

    Scott No Mates Well-Known Member

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    What is in the strata meeting minutes about these issues?
     
    Scott No Mates, 25th Aug, 2019
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  3. Marg4000

    Marg4000 Well-Known Member

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    What did the building inspection say?
     
    Marg4000, 25th Aug, 2019
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  4. twww

    twww Member

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    All fair questions.

    Have yet to go through the report.
     
    twww, 25th Aug, 2019
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  5. Kookaburra

    Kookaburra New Member

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    Those cracks seem reasonable for the building's age. I would be more concerned about things like waterproofing. Get a condition report from a building inspector.
     
    Kookaburra, 27th Aug, 2019
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  6. sauber

    sauber Well-Known Member

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    If it's in the beds and perps which it looks like it is I wouldn't worry too much. That's normal for bricks to do that. I've got that at home and raked out and just refilled.
     
    sauber, 13th Sep, 2019
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  7. The Y-man

    The Y-man Moderator Staff Member

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    I'd be more worried about the balconies.

    We had an apartment in a similar building with cracks where you could get your finger into - but most of these are double brick structures, so it wasn't too big a deal.

    The bigger issue was the balcony - similar to this. The design means the slab that's hanging out into thin air carries and enormous weight of all the bricks, and compounded with the fact that the design provide poor drainage (there is usually a few pipes that get blocked easily). Our building ended up getting concrete cancer in many of the balconies (granted it was build in the 60's and this was 2008~ish so it had a damn good run!) from the pooled water eventually soaking through the concrete and hitting the rebars.

    Having said that, the underside of these balconies look clean and well maintained, so can't see a major issue from the pics.

    The Y-man
     
    The Y-man, 13th Sep, 2019
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  8. twww

    twww Member

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    Thanks all.

    As I said, unit ticked quite a few boxes but in the end there were quite a few issues that made me not want to pursue with it.

    It did sell in the end...
     
    twww, 19th Sep, 2019
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  9. twww

    twww Member

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    twww, 4th Nov, 2019
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  10. Scott No Mates

    Scott No Mates Well-Known Member

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    Roof leak, expansion and a secondary crack - would need a lot of investigation
     
    Scott No Mates, 4th Nov, 2019
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  11. twww

    twww Member

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    Well...Just going through the Strata report and the included Engineering report dated last year.

    In a nutshell:

    • Moderate to Major sheer cracking inside one of the units due to differential settlement.
    • Major Sheer cracking to external skin...
    • Foundation subsidence...

    Good luck to the person buying into this...I'm out...
     
    twww, 5th Nov, 2019
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  12. twww

    twww Member

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    Was on the phone with the selling agent this morning. He mentioned everything was on track for the auction day...

    Had to break it to him that I was no longer interested.

    He seemed rattled with the above-mentioned issues and had no idea about it.
     
    twww, 8th Nov, 2019
    #12