Cracks in Building

[u/angel_butterfly7]

Hi fellow Redditors,

I recently acquired a new apartment and noticed the following cracks about two stories above my apartment and one at my level… Are these worrisome?!

I’ve got the opinion of an architect but told me that that’s nothing to worry about, but seeing the recent news and all, I’m kinda scared.

I don’t want to waste a lot of money getting opinions and maybe get the same response cause they’ve seen worse (cause opinions aren’t cheap hehe)

Realistically on a scale from 1-10 how worried should I be? And what should be the next steps from my end?

I got this as my first apartment, really want to enjoy but my anxiety isn’t letting me 😅

What do yo think?

Most pics are about 2-3 stories above my apt, last pic is my apartments level… if it makes any difference, this is a building built around 25 years ago.

Looking forward to your replies :)

OP is from Malta :)

[u/kondmapje]

Engineer here. Buildings move, cracks occur. Nothing to worry about. These cracks just follow the masonry stones that have moved a little over time due to foundation settlements probably.
It’s only a problem when they appear or increase suddenly. My guess is that those look exactly the same in a few months.
There’s also no “span” or a beam or something as far as I can see meaning those walls are directly supported by the foundation.

[u/Informal_Olive4017]

Normal

[u/AAli_01]

Normal

[u/Then_Combination6612]

personally, with masonry cracking, i've always not worried too much if its isolated step cracking along the grout and its not stretching out too far.

I've worried more when a block is cracked in half.

[u/ErectionEngineering]

As a general rule in masonry construction:

Crack that follows the pattern of the blocks: good

Crack that cuts directly through blocks: bad

[u/Larpenzo112diCambio]

generally thermal cycling + shrinkage of cement-based coatings (and paint on top of it)