could this be a potential problem?

[robgil]

ive got this 1960/1970 type crappy extension grafted onto the side of the cottage.

as you can see the plaster work is far from perfect , in fact it does look as though its been grafted on there and i am pretty sure the render is cement.
to the right inside top corner of the extension door is a fracture crack due to subsidence.

now on the other side of that gable wall is an inglenook with a cupboard on one side and a fiberboard wall on the other.

now , would the builder of this extension have tied it into the inglenook? and would removing the extension altogether mean possibly damaging the fireplace behind? the rest of the gable wall i think is lath and plaster.

 

[DaveBrigg]

As cracks go, that looks to be small beer, and not necessarily due to subsidence. I've seen new-builds with bigger gaps opening up. I'm not sure how you could tell if the extension is tied in without taking a chisel to the join (the 'new' side of course). There must be something holding the two parts together, but I guess it is unlikely to have been a major structural alteration, since the builder would not have wanted to risk the gable wall collapsing during the process.

 

[robgil]

cheers dave , thats good to know. the surveyor clocked that crack and labelled it as a fracture crack due to subsidence and followed it up with a mention of shallow footings and a possible need for underpinning. the extension itself is pretty much an eye sore and even though it provides a lot of useful space its just not in keeping with the rest of the cottage so if it were to need some work doing i would rather just pull it down and put something else there in its place, possibly a clay lump extension like the one to the rear of the house.