What are the causes of cracking

The causes of cracking are wide and varied just like the cracks themselves and are seldom significant.

They can be caused by ground subsidence, ground heavem woody vegetation, changes in the water table, poor foundations, leaking drains etc, but the most common cause is much more straight-forward.

Common causes of cracking are the use of brittle material like cement render over a thick masonry wall.  Masonry does move.  It expands and contracts due to heating and cooling.  Even modern large panel construction (houses, long walls) has built in movement joints as it is recognised that brittle material cracks.

Cracking is common on gable walls for a couple of reasons.  The positions of teh flues are mucj thinner than the rest of the wll so is more prone to the effects of thermal movement.  Where chimneys are still in use, this thermal movement is increased.

Frequently I read Level 3 RICS reports that recommend structural engineers be instructed to dignose the cause of a crack that follows the line of a flue in a gable wall when it is clearly caused by normal thermal movement and worsened by the use of cement render or cement mortar.  This is not always the cause but is most common.

So, instructing a building surveyor and not an RICS valuation surveyor to do a building survey on your property will save you money on additional and unecessary fees.