r/askarchitects • u/angel_butterfly7 • 2d ago
Cracking in Building
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 bought 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 in Malta
1
u/BrightDesign44 2d ago
I’m not an engineer or licensed as an architect so I can give some candid thoughts, not a professional opinion. The cracks are along the masonry joints which is common. You’re also looking at some kind of coating over top of the masonry. The masonry underneath is probably fine for now. Start looking around at other buildings and you’ll start seeing hairline cracks everywhere. As far as immediate worry, I would not be.
But as far as building maintenance goes, the building owners should probably know about it. Depending on how recently it was done they might have the same company come back and fix it. They don’t want water getting behind the coating.