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I bought the house about a couple of months ago, the house inspector missed many things during the inspection.

Recently I noticed that there is a crack on the external wall. The crack is thin and becomes visible when it rains. It is also quite long. Any idea how to fix it and how serious is it? 1.

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  • HI @Touchstone, have you noticed any water leaking inside? If it "appears" when it rains, it sounds like the substrate under the stones expands when wet - which would suggest there might be an issue with your gutters / roof drainage.
    – Mr R
    Apr 28, 2022 at 9:05
  • What kind of construction is this? This could just be a cosmetic layer sprayed onto the actual wall (for example cinderblocks). A crack could still be an indication of underlying problems, but it could also be limited to that top layer if this is the case.
    – MiG
    Apr 28, 2022 at 9:23
  • Did the inspector "miss" this, or did the inspector consider it "not a problem"?
    – FreeMan
    Apr 28, 2022 at 10:52
  • @MrR I didn't notice any leakage inside the house. Is this something I can fix on my own (DIY novice), or should I call some kinda expert?
    – Touchstone
    Apr 28, 2022 at 11:07
  • @MiG I think it is a cosmetic layer sprayed onto the actual wall. Not sure, about the material used for the actual wall. Not sure, whom should I call to fix it like mason etc?
    – Touchstone
    Apr 28, 2022 at 11:10

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You tagged this with "Canada" so I'm going to assume you are in an area that freezes. That being the case, I don't think it's any coincidence that this is directly below a gap between the roof line and the end of the gutter.

I believe water is making its way down between those and infiltrating into and behind the siding material and then freezing there and cracking it.

Before you try to fix this you will want to address the root problem. Next you will want to correct any damage behind it which, unfortunately, means tearing part of this siding material off. I believe you will find significant water damage needing repair.

In my opinion a home inspector should have caught this and flagged it as a potential problem.

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  • Thank you so much for looking into it. Yes, I live in Montreal, Canada (snows like crazy). Not sure if I can sue the home inspector. Btw what kinda expert do I need to fix this?
    – Touchstone
    Apr 28, 2022 at 11:17
  • I'd start with a siding contractor who works with this type of siding. I'm not clear what it is but I'm guessing it's some sort of mortar/stucco with stone attached. They will need to tear into it and correct any damage. After that a guttering/roofing specialist to assess why the water is getting there to begin with.
    – jwh20
    Apr 28, 2022 at 11:22

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