House: cracks on walls

[plus7]

Hi,

 

I have several thin but progressing cracks in my house. Especially in midday I hear a knock every 20 mins. Some of them are in internal walls, several are on outer.

On internal walls there is a tile and it is yet ok. This two-storey house is about 8 years old.

Do you think I need to worry or this is just a cosmetic nuisance?

Edited September 13, 2017 by plus7

[Artisi]

Assume the walls are cement rendered, likely just shrinkage cracks. 

[plus7]

6 minutes ago, Artisi said:

Assume the walls are cement rendered, likely just shrinkage cracks. 

 

Ah, sorry, forgot to mention, walls are made of small red bricks.

[Artisi]

7 minutes ago, plus7 said:

 

Ah, sorry, forgot to mention, walls are made of small red bricks.

Plastered with cement?

[plus7]

27 minutes ago, Artisi said:

Plastered with cement?

I think so, never thought about it.

[Artisi]

27 minutes ago, plus7 said:

I think so, never thought about it.

Easy to see, are the bricks exposed or covered with cement. When you look at the wall what do you see - bricks or smooth surface?

[VocalNeal]

I was looking at cracks in my neighbors house walls.  I was going to ask him if it was settling or unsettling. 

Edited September 13, 2017 by VocalNeal

[plus7]

VocalNeal,

I see smooth surface. When I drill walls , first centimeter goes very fast, then harder.

[VocalNeal]

How deep are the cracks. If less than a centimeter then if they are not too large you can fill by rubbing a piece of school chalk over them!

[cooked]

People have been worrying about cracks in the walls ever since bricks were invented. (maybe before).

It's unlikely your house will fall apart. Settlement happens, and cracks tend to appear near window and door openings. Unless you get to a stage where you can no longer open the doors then just let it happen. Paint over or fill and repaint in a year or two.

We have an annex (not built by me) that settled about 8cm away from the wall it's supposed to be adjacent to. I sealed the crack twice in 5 years, it seems to have (more or less) stopped now.

[phantomfiddler]

You are worried about a knock every 10 minutes ? I get woken up by loud hammering noises, so I just get up and let them out !

[Jedsada3]

 

On 9/13/2017 at 11:22 AM, plus7 said:

Some of them are in internal walls, several are on outer.

If you see cracks on internal walls, it could mean that the cracks are in the bricks and not only on the cement coating. You should check if the cracks go through. Check if they are at the same place inside and outside (for example 50 cm from the window)

 

Cracks in wall can also come from roots and then it can become a big problem.
The wall around my house starts getting cracks and it comes from the roots of a big tamarind and some other fruits trees (Jack, Mango...).

[zyphodb]

Almost certainly settling due to lots of rain and inadequate foundations, quite normal in a Thai built house. Almost certainly nothing to worry about as the walls aren't load bearing, so it's just cosmetic... 

[eyecatcher]

2 hours ago, zyphodb said:

Almost certainly settling due to lots of rain and inadequate foundations, quite normal in a Thai built house. Almost certainly nothing to worry about as the walls aren't load bearing, so it's just cosmetic... 

Thats almost certainly rubbish.

How can you make a diagnosis with the info the OP has given.?

 

At no point has he: offered photos; said when the house was built; he doesnt even know what its built from.

You have no clue his walls are not loadbearing and you have no idea the stress he is already going through because he doesnt know!!

....and you tell him not to worry.

 

OP there are lots of clues when building surveying and cracks are brought about by one hundred different reasons,  shrinkage, expansion, settlement, trees, clay, soil, water, drought, sunshine, loss of adhesion, crappy building practices, structural failure, termites, leaks.

 

By far the most common worry here is shrinkage cracks but of course inexperienced people dont know this. I have surveyed several properties for TV readers and yes they are all due to shrinkage.

I have severe cracks at my property, most definately a mixture of settlement and bad workmanship no shrinkage in a teak house.

 

The loud noises I hear myself every day, for me its an expanding galvzinc metal gutter but its also common to hear the cracking noise in the roof steelwork as it expands.

You will find it cracks back again at 6pm as it cool down,

 

However there is no correllation between expanding steelwork and cracking render.

 

OP perhaps if you can take a few photos then the building surveyors amongst us can make a judgement rather than the teachers who think chalk will provide a solution 

[bazza73]

Is the OP in an earthquake zone? Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai have them reasonably frequently. Cracking of cement render can have multiple causes. Of concern if the underlying brick is cracking as well.

The knocking noise is most probably arising from the slip-strike effect of roof expansion. Almost guaranteed to happen if it's a metal roof pinned to a steel frame.

 

 

[shaurene]

If you take some closeup pictures it may help to help you. 

[Dene16]

 

3 hours ago, eyecatcher said:

Almost certainly settling due to lots of rain and inadequate foundations, quite normal in a Thai built house.

 

He is not saying 100% and you even admit it yourself that it's probably due to shrinkage so why make such a big deal of it?

i would say that 60% of the Thai houses have such cracks and it more likely to do with a combination of both shrinkage and settlement

It is very easy to assume that it is due to inadequate foundations by the very nature of the sub standard earth and settlement process they use hence some larger 2 story buildings use pylons (for lack of a better word at the moment)

The fact that most houses are single story allows for the fact that this is not of too much of a concern

That's not to say it cannot be avoided

It is great that you have given a more detailed observation (especially in regards to the noise which is probably spot on) but the op is somewhat putting his mind at rest before the poster gets over worried

That why 2 heads are better than one, ranting does not help anyone

 

 

 

 

[Foozool]

8 years old house has already settled. Shrinking/expansion sound could happen by sunset/sunshine from steel windows or roof area. Sometimes rebars in concrete.

But if there are visible new cracks at a limited area of the house, you need to check for water pipe leak that could be close/under or at the button of the wall barrier.

I even don't know that kind of foundation your house has built on. Over deep posts or no posts with footing foundation only. It is not easy to estimate the problem with little information. 

 

Edited September 14, 2017 by Foozool

[zyphodb]

Thanks for that Dene16 having been a builder for thirty years I know the futility of arguing with surveyors about anything....

  Just smile, nod your head and wait for them to go away so that you can get back to getting the job done...  

[transam]

If it's a regular Thai built place there are no load bearing walls. The walls are just a filler to a reinforced concrete frame whose legs have underground pads about a metre square.

 

If these pads were not placed on "aged" compacted ground there is a risk of movement at any time if water finds it's way to any of them and further compacting ground.

 

A two story house can be more prone to this problem because of the extra weight and down force.

 

In my house there are a couple of minor cracks in the thin render coat near internal doors caused by door slamming, not subsidence..

 

Your noise could be door frame expansion and contraction if they are no firmly fixed.