Cracks and structural damage

Some cracks in walls are not serious and can be easily repaired, and some may be a sign of more serious structural damage. This page gives our tenants advice on when to contact us about cracks and what they should repair themselves.

Whilst most cracks in walls will be superficial Welwyn Garden City is built on clay soil with many trees close to homes which can make subsidence cracks more common.

Plaster cracks

Most cracks you will see on the walls of your home are superficial cracks in the plaster.

They only affect the top layer of plaster and are not usually serious.

Our council tenants are responsible for filling in these minor cracks in internal plasterwork when getting ready to redecorate.

How to spot a plaster crack:

  • fine lines, often difficult to see from a distance
  • often covering a small area
  • appearing horizontally or vertically
  • same width throughout not suddenly getting wider
  • only visible on one side of the wall (unless it's a very thin partition wall)
  • often found around doors and window frames, where walls meet the ceiling, newly plastered areas or where extension meets and original building

What you need to do about plaster cracks

You do not need to contact us about plaster cracks in your council home.

If you notice one keep an eye on it for a few weeks to make sure it doesn’t grow or change.

You can repair these cracks using polyfilla, sand them smooth and paint over them.

Structural cracks

Structural cracks are more serious and may mean part of your building has moved.

You should contact us as soon as possible if you notice structural cracks in your council home so we can assess them and take action if needed.

How to spot a structural crack:

  • wider than 3-5mm (or wider than a credit card)
  • often stepped following the mortar lines in brickwork, or diagonal at a 45 degree angle
  • run continuously from the wall into the ceiling, or down towards the floor
  • visible on both sides of a wall
  • wider at one end than the other
  • grow quickly
  • often found near the corners of buildings, above or below windows and doors, in exterior brickwork and load-bearing walls

What you need to do about structural cracks

Do not ignore structural cracks if you notice them in your council home. You should contact us as soon as possible so we can assess them and take action.

If possible you should take photos and note the date, location, and size to document how they change.