ᐅ Sandstone house has cracks in the masonry

Hello dear house building forum community,

Attached are two photos showing cracks in our old sandstone house.
Has anyone here possibly had similar experiences or dealt with comparable damage?

The house was built on vaulted cellars, construction year around 1850.

Are these types of cracks generally repairable? I understand there are many factors involved, such as soil conditions.

The cracks have developed over time, and two trees have grown within one of the cracks, which certainly did not improve the situation.

The cracks marked in the front view photo can also be found in similar locations on the back of the house.

The left wall shown in the front view photo can be seen from the side in the second photo.

Has anyone seen anything similar and has experience regarding possible costs? Does anyone know an expert or surveyor who could be contacted to assess and recommend the necessary measures?

Best regards,
Walter

Generally speaking, this seems more like a facing wall rather than a load-bearing masonry wall. In other words, what you’re seeing may not be the foundation, but rather the wall behind it (made of whatever material; I wouldn’t completely rule out timber framing either). It might be possible to find out how the house was built by checking the city archives?

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Hello 11ant,

thank you for your reply.

We believe that it is not a facing brick wall. The sandstone is at least also visible on the inside. The internal load-bearing walls are built with brick and timber framing, while the external walls are, in my opinion, entirely made of sandstone.

Best regards,
Walter

Walter, the only answer can be: get a building surveyor to inspect it on site.

Best regards in brief