The house next door to me is vacant and went under contract and they had it inspected last week.
I was in my front yard and introduced myself to the inspector
And we talked for a little while.
I asked him about his experiences with these 1950’s homes with brick veneer.
Most of the homes in my neighborhood have stair step cracks where it appears the house has settled.
He indicated it is a judgement call as to whether he recommends evaluation by an engineer.
He recommends filling the crack with caulking (not mortar)
We talked about homes that have what looks like significant cracks in the exterior brick & mortar BUT LITTLE OR NO CRACKING IN THE FOUNDATION
I have seen these houses where the outside brick crack looks pretty bad but yet the foundation doesn’t seem to have much of a problem.
I’ve seen them with 1/16 or less foundation cracks and these are even kind of hard to even see and I was wondering if you all agree that the foundation is probably okay
Some of these homes even have significant cracks on the drywall but yet THE FOUNDATION LOOKS OKAY
Thanks for any input
Edited 12/27/2008 10:15 am by mrfixitusa
Edited 12/27/2008 10:18 am by mrfixitusa
Replies
This can be caused by wood framing shrinking in the box area
Thanks for your inputWhen you say the box area, did you mean the 2 X 4's in the wall?Thanks again!
By box area I mean the2x8 or2x10 that is sitting on the plate above the foundation. The same can happen at the second floor level.
okay now I understand.Thanks again!
Something usually has to move to cause cracks in brick veneer.
If you look at the math, a slight downward movement of a foundation corner, resulting is a crack just visible in the foundation, will cause a stress crack following the mortar joints, that becomes progressively larger as it goes up the wall, until it meets a point where there is a stress relieving point. That is usually a window or door opening or header. If it wasn't for the friction of all that material holding it together, a minor crack would probably be a really noticeable "V".
Inside, I see drywall cracks due to framing shrinkage and twisting, even when the drywall is installed and cut out around windows and doors, as opposed to piecing it in.
I see drywall cracks occurring when walls are built parallel to and between floor joists and there is no blocking to help with the load. Floor sheathing bends, walls sag and cracks start.
I see drywall cracks and really noticeable settling in second floor walls because of inadequate framing support in the basement or pier settlement in off-grade construction.
I see ceiling cracks radiating from wall corners, usually walls in the middle of a building, and from various penetrations such as HVAC vents, when the attic in a truss framed roof is used for storing years of family accumulations.
There is a house just built not too far from where I live that I fully expect to develop problems because it was built on unsuitable fill. It may not happen for years, but it will happen.
Thanks Ralph, all of what you said helps me understand thisBut I really appreciate what you said about walls not having adequate support with blocking (when the wall is parallel to the floor joists)I am not aware of any inspectors pointing this out when I've been around inspections.Maybe they don't look that closely at that particular aspect.Something else I've noticed is the foundation can look pretty good AND YET THERE ARE STILL SOME PROBLEMS WITH DOORS STICKINGThanks again
Any crack is worth a closer look. Framing lumber should not shrink enough to cause stress cracks in mortar. Any crack that goes vertical is a serious issue, and the first place to start looking is the masonry to ground contact. I'll bet you water has something to do with it.