Exterior gable & back wall

[Rainylake]

Hi everyone,

This is my first post on here & I have just bought a 1910 house that is in need of some TLC.... well okay...pretty major work, as nothing had been done for many years.
It has a red brick front wall, and these blocks ( I think they are ) on the gable and back wall.
There are quite a few hairline cracks dotted about, but I have noticed that where there is protection ( inside a conservatory ) there are none.
Is this something to be worried about? Many thanks!

 

[Cubist]

Your photo suggests that the block-work of the walls has merely been painted but that may not be true of its entirety. Have any sections of the wall been rendered do you know? If yes then the cracks you have found could be allowing rain-water to collect beneath the render to cause damp problems in-doors and ultimately the separation and failure of the render. If though, the cracks are in the perhaps multiple old coats of paint applied directly to the face of the blocks this too could be worrying.

Either way, for the short term some simple repairs to close the cracks will prevent future rain penetration to limit harm to the blocks - left to accumulate water in the faces of the blocks may induce 'blowing' of the surface during freeze/thaw cycles.

Also, do you know what type of paint was used? Plastic, vapour impermeable paints can severely reduce the walls ability to breathe effectively to expel moisture created indoors.

 

[stuart45]

It looks like the brickwork has been rendered, and lines put in with a bent nail and straight edge to mimic blockwork.

 

[Rainylake]

Your photo suggests that the block-work of the walls has merely been painted but that may not be true of its entirety. Have any sections of the wall been rendered do you know? If yes then the cracks you have found could be allowing rain-water to collect beneath the render to cause damp problems in-doors and ultimately the separation and failure of the render. If though, the cracks are in the perhaps multiple old coats of paint applied directly to the face of the blocks this too could be worrying.

Either way, for the short term some simple repairs to close the cracks will prevent future rain penetration to limit harm to the blocks - left to accumulate water in the faces of the blocks may induce 'blowing' of the surface during freeze/thaw cycles.

Also, do you know what type of paint was used? Plastic, vapour impermeable paints can severely reduce the walls ability to breathe effectively to expel moisture created indoors.

Thanks for your response.
On closer inspection I think that the blocks have just been painted and there is brick on the inside. The gable wall is very damp and I have found a number of reasons for that and am trying to rectify those first. I have started taking the plaster off on the inside and will let the house breathe for a while.
I have no idea what type of paint the blocks have been painted with ( it doesn't particularly look like vinyl) but it maybe that it isn't suitable for the building.
I will take each day as it comes.

 

[Flyfisher]

It looks like the brickwork has been rendered, and lines put in with a bent nail and straight edge to mimic blockwork.

That was my first thought as well. If the wall wasn't rendered and just painted, the pointing would be visible and it would be a lot wider than those thin lines ('nail lines' as @stuart45 suggested), so my bet is that the wall is painted render. Might be brick or block underneath, but no way of knowing without removing a small area of render.

Assuming it is render, would it likely be a lime render on a 1910 house? Even if it is lime-based, and hasn't been re-done with cement render over the years, the paint looks fairly fresh so it's likely to be a modern paint, some sort of exterior masonry paint I would guess.