Are these cracks major problems? Any thoughts?

Hello,

We are about to make an offer to a townhouse in Seattle. Do you think these cracks are major? it looks like that is a trim board, which if that’s the case can be replaced or even sanded and repainted and it isn’t structural, so wouldn’t matter if it’s cracked a bit… Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Ege:

Looks like typical wood split to me, but of course I am not seeing the whole picture and it there are any other signs. Best to get the unit inspected by a professional home inspector.

Thank you.

Ege,

I would agree with mike that it looks like it is wood split.
Thankfully it’s a piece of trim that would be an easy fix. One good way to further investigate would be to take the trim piece off and see what it looks like behind there. If you see further damage it would be best to get it professionally inspected.
Thank you.

It's just wood checking.

Looks like just a split on a trim piece and not a structural support. If that is the case then nothing to worry about. Just seal it and repaint to better protect from moisture.

Seems like if this is not a structural support, which is doesn't appear to be, that this is what's known as "checking" of the wood. Checking occurs as the wood dries out. If it doesn't dry out in a uniform manner, the cracks occur as the wood shrinks. No big deal.

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 01/26/2022 12:08 AM EST

Definitely looks common like others have said. In looking at the picture for curiosity sake, it looks like their is water on a couple shingles under the corner of the window. It's a bad angle for that portion of the picture to tell if it's actually moisture, but that definitely spiked my interest on what that is. Not that I think it's serious, but more curious where it came from as nothing else is that shade.