Browse Forums Building Standards; Getting It Right! 1 Jan 25, 2016 1:50 pm Does anyone know what would cause a brick in a brick veneer wall to split and come away? This is not my house but I'm curious as to the reason. I noticed that the brick was splitting apart from the bottom up for quite a while and now the piece seems to have fallen away completely. I happen to have a photo of when the house was being built and there was no visible split in the brick at all so all of this has happened since the house was finished about 4 years ago. Pics below: Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅
Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Re: Brick veneer wall splitting and cracking 2Jan 25, 2016 6:06 pm There is something funky going on with the foundations. There is sufficient movement to cause the brick course movement issue and the concrete path/apron issue. Definitely needs further engineer investigation. Re: Brick veneer wall splitting and cracking 3Jan 25, 2016 8:32 pm At a guess it's a horizontal shear crack which lines up with the flashing bedded in the weep hole coursing no doubt a weak spot along the mortar bed More photos required Designer,Engineer (Civil,Const & Envir),Builder,Concrete & Masonry Contract.Struct Repairs Re: Brick veneer wall splitting and cracking 4Jan 26, 2016 6:56 am I can't really get any other photos but from what I can see (its a corner house) this is the only spot where the brick walls look compromised. The people who rent it told me yesterday that the showers have been leaking for long enough that the plasterboard is soft though! So maybe a combination of a weak spot in the mortar bed and plumbing issues causing slab movement. I should have mentioned that this is highly reactive clay soil. Re: Brick veneer wall splitting and cracking 6Jan 26, 2016 5:52 pm I would be suspicious of a storm water leak under the concrete paving.This would lift the paving and crack it also putting lateral pressure on the brick work as it rises.I have seen this happen to strip footings and very occasionally slab footings. The another possibility is the slab wasn't finished off properly at the corner and the brick work is not properly supported but it would be harder to explain the crack in the paving with this situation. Ask the owner to get a plumber to inspect the pipe under the paving if there is one there. Also get a set of floor levels done to see if the slab is moving in this area. The leaking shower may be a seperate issue as it would be unlikely to effect the outside paving without causing major damage internally first. Sometimes the stormwater pipes get damaged during the laying of outside concrete paving. Re: Brick veneer wall splitting and cracking 7Jan 26, 2016 6:14 pm None of the above! My diagnosis is that it is caused by brick growth and lack of effective articulation joints. Telling symptom is slipped third row of bricks (visible on left side of photo) Foremost Building Expert in Australia,assisting with building problems/disputes, building stage inspections,pre-contract review advice for peace of mind 200 blogs http://www.buildingexpert.net.au/blog Re: Brick veneer wall splitting and cracking 8Jan 26, 2016 6:22 pm I'll have a wander past tomorrow and see if there are any articulation joints. I don't know the owners, only the people renting it. Apparently the owners live overseas and the house is an investment property. I know that the house was built by Metricon. Re: Brick veneer wall splitting and cracking 9Jan 26, 2016 6:40 pm Don't often disagree with you BE Brick growth usually happens in Batches not just a few bricks and wouldn't have cracked the paving. Brick growth shows up as a vertical crack on the corner bricks and the most of the height the wall. It can be mistaken as a vertical heave crack and can be confirmed with a set of floor levels. Lack of articulation would have shown up as a crack at the window in the photo as it is a weak point in the brick work. Anyway we are just guessing without more info. Re: Brick veneer wall splitting and cracking 10Jan 26, 2016 7:04 pm Couldn't it be just a faulty brick? Anyway, that third course of bricks has my attention. 3in1 Supadiverta. Rainwater Harvesting Best Practice using syphonic drainage. Cleaner Neater Smarter Cheaper Supa Gutter Pumper. A low cost syphonic eaves gutter overflow solution. Re: Brick veneer wall splitting and cracking 11Jan 27, 2016 7:27 am Liliana I'll have a wander past tomorrow and see if there are any articulation joints. I don't know the owners, only the people renting it. Apparently the owners live overseas and the house is an investment property. I know that the house was built by Metricon. Even if you find articulation joints it does not necessarily mean that they are effective. Mortar in articulation joints (it's common) means that it does not function in compression. When there is brick growth it will simply push the corer out above flashing(slip line). If you have a good look at the photo , you will see that brickwork above second brick has been pushed out to the left and corner does not line up any more. If you probe articulation joint with a small screwdriver you will find lumps of mortar, particularly at window sill level. I have diagnosed this problem on dozens of my inspections so it's nothing new to me. If you are looking, see if there are any damaged windows from compression. Foremost Building Expert in Australia,assisting with building problems/disputes, building stage inspections,pre-contract review advice for peace of mind 200 blogs http://www.buildingexpert.net.au/blog Re: Brick veneer wall splitting and cracking 12Jan 27, 2016 7:36 am insider Don't often disagree with you BE Brick growth usually happens in Batches not just a few bricks and wouldn't have cracked the paving. Brick growth shows up as a vertical crack on the corner bricks and the most of the height the wall. It can be mistaken as a vertical heave crack and can be confirmed with a set of floor levels. Lack of articulation would have shown up as a crack at the window in the photo as it is a weak point in the brick work. Anyway we are just guessing without more info. Cracked brickwork and cracked paving are not necessarily related. Brickwork (apart from one brick) has not cracked at corner because entire plane has been pushed out (as you can see in the top photo) I agree with you that more info is required and expert inspection may find other issues. Foremost Building Expert in Australia,assisting with building problems/disputes, building stage inspections,pre-contract review advice for peace of mind 200 blogs http://www.buildingexpert.net.au/blog Re: Brick veneer wall splitting and cracking 13Jan 30, 2016 8:02 am I forgot to ask you Liliana to take a photo of roof corner immediately above, more than likely it will show that fascia corner has been pushed out as well. Foremost Building Expert in Australia,assisting with building problems/disputes, building stage inspections,pre-contract review advice for peace of mind 200 blogs http://www.buildingexpert.net.au/blog Re: Brick veneer wall splitting and cracking 14Feb 09, 2016 5:15 pm I've taken some more photos of the corner of the house though I'm not sure they show much more, certainly not to my untrained eye - apart from the fact that the window is hard up against the brickwork.
Like ⋅ 1 comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ 1 comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ And just to show the brick didn't appear defective when the house was being built: Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Re: Brick veneer wall splitting and cracking 15May 10, 2016 10:35 pm I'm with BE on this one... possibly brick growth and possibly brick veneer wall pushed from the other end of the house due to the beginnings of minor heave with the possibility of more than minor heave in future. The levels of the whole house will be necessary to say with more certainty. Pink hues in bricks are more likely to cause long-term expansion of bricks. Let's hope that the bricks are not subject to this syndrome. The paving cracks happen at corners because of basic geometry, when soil shrinks under the outer edges of paving skirts. The placement of a tooled joint out from the corner in the first place would be good thoughtful experienced workmanship to allow the crack to be not so noticeable. Certainly is reactive soil. A little top mesh across the corner might have helped for a time. Trouble is that specifications no longer have the cute clauses in them any longer... the ones that tell you how to do a good job. Re: Brick veneer wall splitting and cracking 18Nov 19, 2019 12:45 pm Two issues 1 Check and repair brick articulation joints to prevent further damage 2 Damage already done may be difficult or not economical to fix, in which case you may have to live with it If you are in Vic and the house is less than 10 years old , then you may have builder's warranty claim Foremost Building Expert in Australia,assisting with building problems/disputes, building stage inspections,pre-contract review advice for peace of mind 200 blogs http://www.buildingexpert.net.au/blog Re: Brick veneer wall splitting and cracking 19Nov 19, 2019 1:29 pm Thanks BE, house is older than 10 years, looks like I should have raised it earlier with the building company, would the bricks need to come out and be put back in? Would this be an insurance company claim? Re: Brick veneer wall splitting and cracking 20Nov 20, 2019 9:33 am As far as I know your domestic insurance policy would be an event based. Poor workmanship is not an insurable event. However do not let this stop you from asking your insurer. Foremost Building Expert in Australia,assisting with building problems/disputes, building stage inspections,pre-contract review advice for peace of mind 200 blogs http://www.buildingexpert.net.au/blog can’t tell from the photo, a tie down rod will be 12mm, is it a steel beam? he should be able to work it out 1 5576 Hi Sleepless Knights, NOTE THE BELOW INFORMATION IS BASED ON RECOMMENDATIONS OF OTHER PEOPLE FROM FACEBOOK GROUP WHERE I POSTED THE SAME POST. I was told by few people… 9 4841 5 11164 |