Settling house? Cracks.

[Anonymous]

House is 80 years old. Was painted before sale (cheaply it seems). In 6 months hairline cracks have appeared along wall and ceiling seams (where walls meet each other or ceiling), at walls on corners of windows and molding separated from floors a few millimeters in places. Normal or is this concerning for structural issues? Did not get structural inspection nor was one provided by seller. Floors are uneven but agent of course chalked up to “just an old house.”

[Anonymous]

Get the structural inspection done now.

[Anonymous]

Seems odd. Most settling would've happened by now if the house is that old. Is there blasting nearby? Has there been an earthquake at some point?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Seems odd. Most settling would've happened by now if the house is that old. Is there blasting nearby? Has there been an earthquake at some point?

Not necessarily. We have a 115 year old house that has been structurally inspected a few times. There are cracks that come back in our plaster walls within a year of painting them. A few places patches have worked but others not as well.

But if you haven't inspected yet, good to do so.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Seems odd. Most settling would've happened by now if the house is that old. Is there blasting nearby? Has there been an earthquake at some point?

Not necessarily. We have a 115 year old house that has been structurally inspected a few times. There are cracks that come back in our plaster walls within a year of painting them. A few places patches have worked but others not as well.

But if you haven't inspected yet, good to do so.

+1 we had an old rowhouse house (90-ish years) with plaster walls and cracks would reappear after painting.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Seems odd. Most settling would've happened by now if the house is that old. Is there blasting nearby? Has there been an earthquake at some point?

Not necessarily. We have a 115 year old house that has been structurally inspected a few times. There are cracks that come back in our plaster walls within a year of painting them. A few places patches have worked but others not as well.

But if you haven't inspected yet, good to do so.

+1 we had an old rowhouse house (90-ish years) with plaster walls and cracks would reappear after painting.

+1 We’ve had structural engineer out and nothing wrong found. Lived there for decades. Not a row house but similar age.

[Anonymous]

Are they straight or are they jagged? If straight, then it's just the drywall, if they are jagged, then have your home inspected by an engineer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Are they straight or are they jagged? If straight, then it's just the drywall, if they are jagged, then have your home inspected by an engineer.

There is no drywall, walls are plaster.

[Anonymous]

This is more than likely what happened: "we're putting the house on the market--those cracks need to disappear!" Someone is hired to paint and they fill in the cracks. Seasonal expansion and contraction happens...you now see cracks "oh my lord the house is falling down!"

The cracks are unlikely at this stage to be more than poorly repaired plaster cracks. Still, get them inspected by someone who knows what they're doing.

[Anonymous]

I have a 104 year old house. The cracks reappearing are normal as long as their hairline. Some of them reappear due to moisture/weather changes and are normal. If you see new one or ones that are growing that’s a different story.

[Anonymous]

Normal with weather changes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Normal with weather changes.

This. It's why mouldings are put at floor and ceiling, to hide the small gaps left to let things expand and contract. Old wood doors have loose panels for much the same reason. It's why you caulk tiled corners rather than use grout.

[Anonymous]

Molding separated from floors can indicate the home has settled. Your home sits on clay soil and with the drought like conditions we've seen lately, the soil shrinks and cracks. Likewise, it will soak up water and expand when the rains return so there will be some vertical movement of the house. If it's sinking in one corner, or say, just the back half of the house, that can be a problem. A good foundation repair company like, 58 Foundations can evaluate the home for free, or you can hire a structural engineer to do the same inspection but you will have to pay for it. "a few millimeters in places" is practically nothing but if it gets worse over time, it is concerning.

[Anonymous]

Quick changes in humidity and temperature can cause plaster to crack.

[Anonymous]

Just adding to the chorus. It can be normal when you have plaster walls in an old house. I've lived in several that have done this. We had our current house inspected by a structural engineer because of plaster cracks that were apparent before we purchased, and he said there was no issue.