Cracks in the walls of a new house

If you find cracks in the walls of a new house, seal them right away. But how do you even check for them? In most cases, cracks in a new house start out microscopic, too small to notice with the naked eye, which is why it is worth having a home inspection before getting the keys: it catches what you cannot spot on your own.

Walls can crack for so many reasons that cracking is fair to call one of the most common construction defects there is. So how do you know where you stand? Is the contractor responsible for cracks that form in a new apartment's walls, and for how long: just the first-year inspection (shnat bedek), or beyond it?

How a home inspection deals with wall cracks

When inspecting a house or apartment for construction defects, it is important to look for cracks in a wall alongside defects in the plumbing and electrical infrastructure, sanitary fixtures, paintwork, and anything else the inspection turns up.

Finding cracks also relies on advanced equipment, and the inspection report goes to the contractor so he can make the repairs quickly and properly. Once the repairs are done, the building engineer runs a further check to confirm the work was done professionally and to code.

Cracks are an unpleasant, visible flaw that can significantly lower a property's value, and in some cases finding cracks in a house's walls points to a real risk to living there safely. That is why it is worth getting a professional, reliable home inspection before you buy.

Types of cracks and how long you have to claim them

If you bought an apartment from a contractor, there is a reasonable chance that cracks will suddenly appear on the walls of one room or several during the inspection period, and you are entitled to require the contractor to fix them.

It is also standard practice to check for wall cracks at the end of the first year of living in the apartment, as part of a thorough defect inspection by an experienced, professional company.

Cracks fall into four subgroups:

• A crack where a partition meets columns or concrete walls, horizontal or vertical: this is a construction defect caused by faulty workmanship.
• Temperature cracks, usually from the roof shifting while the partitions stay put: not a case of faulty workmanship, and the fix is simply to widen the crack and seal it with acrylic material.
• A through crack, visible on both sides of the partition: up to a millimeter wide, it can be repaired without any drop in the building's value; beyond a millimeter, a structural engineer needs to get involved, since it is likely a serious construction defect.
• Very thin plaster cracks, from incorrect plastering work: these pose no safety risk to occupants and usually do not lower the property's value.

The inspection period also differs by type: only the first-year inspection covers non-through cracks, while through cracks stay covered for three years from the day you get the keys.

What cracks in the walls can tell you

Whether you are buying new or resale, take wall cracks seriously, since some point to other, deeper flaws. A home inspection engineer's job is to go over the whole property thoroughly and use advanced equipment to catch even the most hidden defects.

Cracks in the walls of an apartment, house, or building can signal serious underlying problems, such as poor plastering with no mesh at the joints between elements, or other flaws in how the building was put up. These are usually caught during a new apartment defect inspection, when a professional building engineer or architect does the check.

More often than not, a crack is just the visible sign of deeper, more complex damage, so even the smallest one deserves attention. Cracks generally fall into three main types:

1. Hairline cracks, extremely thin and often hard to see, which point to careless plastering, or to a wall that was built crooked and had extra plaster added to try to straighten it.
2. Vertical and horizontal cracks, from an improper combination of two building materials, such as gypsum board against concrete or blocks: these appear right at the joint between the two materials.
3. Diagonal, stair-step cracks, which develop from the building's foundations settling or shifting. That settling can result from construction that was not done properly, or from a burst water or sewage pipe that caused part of the foundation to sink; in some cases, cracks like these appear only after an earthquake or a similar event.

As a buyer, you will often find it hard to tell these apart, since a fresh coat of paint or plaster from the seller can make cracks disappear for a while, only for you to discover them once it is too late. Repairing the underlying damage is usually expensive, and can sometimes require work that makes the building unlivable for a while.

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