cracks in 50 year old house (hardwood floors, ceilings, crawl space, marble)
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I looked at a house built in 1958 and noticed numerous skinny (less than 1/8 inch in diamater, most probably closer to 1/16th or 1/32) cracks in the house. These cracks were long cracks, up to several feet, and were on the ceilings and corners of walls.
I will get the house inspected of course if I want to purhase it, but how serious do these cracks sound? I did not see any external cracks.
I looked at a house built in 1958 and noticed numerous skinny (less than 1/8 inch in diamater, most probably closer to 1/16th or 1/32) cracks in the house. These cracks were long cracks, up to several feet, and were on the ceilings and corners of walls.
I will get the house inspected of course if I want to purhase it, but how serious do these cracks sound? I did not see any external cracks.
Sounds like settling. I have a house from the late 40's and I have some small cracks in the plaster on the ceilings - the beams have settled a bit and pushed on the plaster ceiling. They are barely cracks though, just hairline.
It doesn't sound like anything to worry about. No exterior cracking issues, so it sounds like settling to me.
Last edited by riveree; 11-17-2007 at 10:00 PM..
Reason: You already said not exterior cracks...I'll delete my Q about that.
get a structural engineer out to check out the house, the house should have been finished settling about 47 years ago. There might be a little shifting from time to time. I would defiantly get a structural engineer out to double check to make sure things are stable.
Though most issues will be covered by an inspector- heres a few things to look for/consider- Is the house on a crawl space? moisture problem, termite problem.
If the house has hardwood floors- see if a marble/ ball bearing will roll across the floor without assistance (overspand joist, settled/missing piers). If your inspection shows nothing out of the ordinary, it could be an eviromental problem- too much/too little relative humidity- causing severe expansion and contraction. If nothing still screams- here's your problem- then, as Noahma said- get a P.E. to evaluate.
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