I looked at a house today that had a crack in the outside brick veneer. It was at one of the corners and assended diagonaly from the ground (away from the corner) to the top (near the corner). It was probably 1/8th inch or so wide.
The house is for sale, and the real estate agent’ who I’m doing a lot of work for, want’s me to find out what’s best to do about it.
I’d say the house is about 15 – 20 year’s old.
I’ll be calling ram-jack, or any other contractor you guy’s might recommend, to come out and take a look at it, but wanted to get a quick education as to what some of the causes, solutions might be.
I know ram-jack specializes in getting under the house and lifting stuf like that back up, but is that always nessecary? If it’s through setteling, just fill the crack?
I’ll try to get some pic’s on here tomorrow.
thanks,
st
Replies
Many many many homes have these cracks you're referring to.
They show on a brick home. You don't see cracking on a home with siding.
One school of thought is for the Buyer to pay a Structural Engineer to look at the cracks prior to purchasing the home.
For $150 the Engineer will look at the home and make some recommendations. If those recommendations are followed the Engineer will guarantee the home for a period of time, such as 20 years.
The repairs are made per the Engineers recommendations and he will do a return inspection for $50 and sign off on the home. The Buyer then feels comfortable and doesn't worry the house is going to fall down, etc.
I bought a brick home several years ago and it had diagonal cracks in the brick veneer.
I try to look at the cracks on the outside and see how much movement is it 1/8 inch or is it more like 3/4. Is the movement strictly up and down or is part of the wall also tipping outward.
I also go inside the house and see if there is an identical diagonal crack in the drywall.
Anyway, I bought a house several years ago and I fixed the crack by adding dirt around the foundation (previously the dirt around the foundation was too low).
I later went to all of the cracks in the brick and removed the loose mortar and installed new mortar. It's worked perfectly !
They make a special tool to remove loose mortar between cracks. It's got a handle and two wheels and you pull it along the mortar and the cutting tools plows away the loose mortar.
One mistake I made was being sloppy with the new mortar and getting it on the red brick. I used a hose to wash it off but it didn't clean up like I had hoped.
Some type of acid is used to remove the mess but I didn't do that and I should have.
I patched the cracks because I was worried about moisture coming in and I was worried about ants, termites, etc entering the house.
I've watched basement repair companies examine and evaluate these cracks. They try to determine how much movement has occurred. How many inches of movement has occurred.
One company sets up a laser and takes some reading to see what's happening. I think some guys just eyeball it.
Some companies use lifts to repair the cracks. One company charges $500 to $750 for each lift.
I was thinking about buying a house with some pretty severe cracks. I had the foundation company look at it and he recommended lifts in 7-8 places to the tune of about 5 K.
I didn't buy the house and the next guy did, remodeled it and sold it. I drove by the house the other day and the cracks had not been fixed from what I could see.
I don't know the details but I assume whoever bought the house had the house inspected and it passed the inspection. I'm guessing the appraiser ok'd the house as well.
I'm just guessing on the above - things change if someone buys a house with cash and there's no inspection or appraisal.
One of the reasons to call in an engineer is he will give an opinion which does not involve his company then doing the repairs (as opposed to the foundation company).
Good luck!