Cracks in the wall.

[CNXexpat]

I am living in an 8 years old house. During the last months came some cracks in the wall outside and some smaller cracks became bigger. Nothing to see inside.

1. Do I have a serious problem?

2. What could be the reason?

3. What´s the best material to fill the cracks?

[Liverpudlian]

Just the newness wearing off ... very common when thai farmers are involved as builders ????

[transam]

Building settlement, doesn't look severe too me, just buy some wall putty (filler) and sponge it in. You could use painters flexible caulk, but it doesn't seem to last..

[CNXexpat]

18 minutes ago, Liverpudlian said:

Just the newness wearing off ... very common when thai farmers are involved as builders ????

It was built by a constructor company. Ok, perhaps they hired farmers.

[RichardColeman]

Looks the same as every Thai built house I have ever lived in , and continue to live in !

 

As for filling it - if it not your house and your worried about it - get the Landlord to do it ! My Landlords have been great about repairing stuff - just not so great about handing deposits back !

[CharlieH]

Two products I have used, first is small stuff inside the other for larger outside Both from Homepro

 

 

 

 

[worgeordie]

Don't forget we also had an earthquake not long ago, 

those cracks are nothing to worry about .

regards worgeordie

[CNXexpat]

10 minutes ago, RichardColeman said:

if it not your house

It´s my house, so I am interested of a long live of it.

 

10 minutes ago, CharlieH said:

Two products I have used

Because I am not sure how deep the cracks are I want to try something I can inject in the cracks. I guess silicone is not a good idea, but I am looking for something similar.

[transam]

1 minute ago, CNXexpat said:

It´s my house, so I am interested of a long live of it.

 

Because I am not sure how deep the cracks are I want to try something I can inject in the cracks. I guess silicone is not a good idea, but I am looking for something similar.

It will do nothing, even caulk will only go in a few mm's...

(You cannot paint over silicone sealant)..

[lopburi3]

Crack outside need sealing or water will enter wall.  I have used waterproof cement as a paint and it worked very well.  Sucks into cracks and cured is a waterproof barrier.  Cracks themselves are not that important in most construction here as walls are not load bearing.  

[CharlieH]

2 minutes ago, CNXexpat said:

It´s my house, so I am interested of a long live of it.

 

Because I am not sure how deep the cracks are I want to try something I can inject in the cracks. I guess silicone is not a good idea, but I am looking for something similar.

From the images it would appear to be just the render coat that has split, therefore very minor and the wall putty would be adequate, (imho)

[Morakot]

Quote

 

1. Do I have a serious problem?

2. What could be the reason?

3. What´s the best material to fill the cracks?

 

 

1. No, or more cautiously not yet (keep an eye on it to rule out subsidence).

2. Could be a range of different reasons, but usually an inappropriate mixture of mortar (excessive amounts of cerement) and a bad linking of  walls and frame. If it's a serious issue such as subsidence, fine cracks will turn into larger gaps.

3. Filling might work but would likely be a patch up job to a lower degree of satisfaction. A proper fix would be removing a section of the plaster (ensuring proper linkage) and re-plaster the section with a properly mixed mortar.

[scorecard]

On 11/26/2019 at 2:32 PM, transam said:

Building settlement, doesn't look severe too me, just buy some wall putty (filler) and sponge it in. You could use painters flexible caulk, but it doesn't seem to last..

But if your renting better to talk to the owner first, offering to apply filler, or similar.

 

Don't get yourself into a situation where owner says you did 'unauthorized' repairs etc. Could be grounds to deny return of deposit (if your renting that is).

 

 

[bluejets]

On 11/26/2019 at 6:00 PM, transam said:

It will do nothing, even caulk will only go in a few mm's...

(You cannot paint over silicone sealant)..

There is a paintable silicone sealer.

Edited November 28, 2019 by bluejets

[whaleboneman]

14 minutes ago, bluejets said:

There is a paintable silicone sealer.

Really? Can you show us a link?

[malt25]

On 11/26/2019 at 3:00 PM, transam said:

It will do nothing, even caulk will only go in a few mm's...

(You cannot paint over silicone sealant)..

Numerous paintable silicones on the market.

[transam]

4 minutes ago, malt25 said:

Numerous paintable silicones on the market.

Never seen it in LOS, but you may be right....

[transam]

43 minutes ago, bluejets said:

There is a paintable silicone sealer.

Never seen it in LOS, only the acrylic stuff, but you maybe right..

[Momofarang]

On 11/26/2019 at 2:56 PM, CNXexpat said:

It´s my house, so I am interested of a long live of it.

 

Because I am not sure how deep the cracks are I want to try something I can inject in the cracks. I guess silicone is not a good idea, but I am looking for something similar.

When I have this sort of issue I prefer to keep the building under observation for a few years before filling the cracks. I once had an issue of that sort on a new house and made a claim to the mandatory building malpractice insurance. The expert who came placed gauges on the crack and monitored for a few months before settling the claim. Interestingly the cracks seemed to open and close with the seasons.

[Liverpudlian]

This topic cracks me up ! ????

[dlclark97]

Bottom line is that ground does settle and concrete houses are heavy.  The ground is somewhat flexible and concrete is not so cracks happen.  Your house I believe was said to be about 8 years old so settling should be about done.  One of the earlier replies showed two products suitable for filling cracks.  I do agree that painters caulk should not be used.  For the smaller cracks you made want to use some tools to open the crack surfaces so any filler will adhere well.  Once the above products are forced into the cracks the surface can be sanded and smoothed so that when painted you would never know the cracks were there.  

[emptypockets]

On 11/26/2019 at 2:30 PM, transam said:

It will do nothing, even caulk will only go in a few mm's...

(You cannot paint over silicone sealant)..

There is paintable silicone according to an old friend who is a retired tradesman painter.

[BoganInParasite]

I don't see anything alarming there.

[bankruatsteve]

3 hours ago, bluejets said:

(You cannot paint over silicone sealant)..

Well, I can.  It's not a special kind that I am aware and it doesn't seem to be bothered by it.

[Max69xl]

On 11/26/2019 at 2:32 PM, transam said:

Building settlement, doesn't look severe too me, just buy some wall putty (filler) and sponge it in. You could use painters flexible caulk, but it doesn't seem to last..

There's also flexible putty. It can withstand some movements. 

[stropper]

no big problem there, use sika flex to repair cracks and then paint over , sika flex is good for 20 years as it is a great product, it is used extensivelly in high rise buildings to patch cracks as same as yours 

[exemplary21]

On 11/26/2019 at 2:44 PM, CharlieH said:

Two products I have used, first is small stuff inside the other for larger outside Both from Homepro

 

 

 

 

 

I think you've got that the wrong way round: the first is for structural stuff, indoor or out, and the second is for cosmetic indoor stuff.

[lanng khao]

4 hours ago, dlclark97 said:

Bottom line is that ground does settle and concrete houses are heavy.  The ground is somewhat flexible and concrete is not so cracks happen.  Your house I believe was said to be about 8 years old so settling should be about done.  One of the earlier replies showed two products suitable for filling cracks.  I do agree that painters caulk should not be used.  For the smaller cracks you made want to use some tools to open the crack surfaces so any filler will adhere well.  Once the above products are forced into the cracks the surface can be sanded and smoothed so that when painted you would never know the cracks were there.  

As a artist in burnt clay myself (bricklayer),that exactly what I would have said...

[thailand49]

From my experience your house was built on a piece of land below grade they came in and dump sand etc to build the height up but started building  before the fill had completely settle so now you have settlement. This is happening on the Darkside with many of the townhouses being build quickly and cheaply or should I say way overpriced.

 

Then you add the cheap material being used not to mentioned the cheap unskilled labor. The best solution I've found patching cracks is first get a blade or screwdriver and scrape and enlarge the cracks then get yourself a can around 300 baht of the foam insulation inject it into the cracks the foam will expand this will provide better enforcement than what has been suggested in my opinion. Once dry take a knife and trim off the excess. Then sand smooth, clean, prime and paint.

[phetphet]

Lots of videos on Youtube that might be helpful to you.

 

https://youtu.be/wuqpg_ouKXo