Long vertical crack in gable wall - is it safe?

[farnorth]

Hello, I am desperately seeking some advice.

I am becoming very worried about a long-standing crack in the gable wall of my house. I have the end house in a terrace row - the brickwork at the gable end is cracked from about three feet from the ground all the way up to the roof, almost in a vertical line. It is only a small crack - not half a centimetre - but it is visible up close. In the bedroom adjacent to this wall you can often hear a noise which sounds like a brick cracking.

The inner layer of this wall is breezeblock - I have no idea what condition they are in further down, but inspecting them in the loft where they are visible, the breezeblocks appear to be sound.

I have searched around on the internet and read all sorts of stories about subsidence issues and very expensive shoring up repairs. I doubt I could afford that unless it is covered by insurance. I should also mention that there is a large tree near this wall, planted by the council when the house was built - is it possible the roots of this tree might be affecting the gable?

Should I be worried that the side of the house will collapse at some point? This house is only 25 years old and was sold to us as sound and passed by the surveyor/valuation expert.

Thanks in advance for any input.

[pushkins]

A long vertical crack is worthy of keeping an eye on. You mentioned the tree, just how close is this tree to your wall and what sort of tree is it (maple, Oak.etc...) as it most definitely could have a bearing on the crack.
Does the crack get wider as it goes up the wall ? this info. would also help.

[farnorth]

Hi Pushkins, thank you for your reply. Sorry for the delay getting back here - I've been trying to find out what kind of tree it is but no-one seems to know. I'm going to clip some of the leaves - they're not leaves really, just clumps of long green spikes, and see if I can find out online.

The tree is located about eight feet from the wall. I can't for the life of me figure out why anyone would plant it so close to the gable wall. When the council owned the property it was their tree, so we weren't permitted to cut it down. Now they have sold us that land, with the house, it's ours to take action, but a bit too late really, as removing it would be a major job for us.

The crack does not seem to get wider as it goes higher, it just seems to be a tiny 2 or 3 millimetre gap all the way.

Anyway I will try to get info on the tree. I don't think the house is in danger of collapse, but I do think the tree needs removed. Would removing it now have any impact on the foundations of the house? Eight feet is very close proximity.

[HayZee518]

the tree you mention doesn't have "leaves" per se. therefore it is an evergreen. some kind of fir has spikes. another is acacia. a yew is a bush and is an evergreen. about the crack. something has shifted. the bricks are held to the interior framing with narrow galvanized strips, one end nailed to a stud and the other end sandwiched between a mortar joint. has your foundation shifted? is the footing in sand?