Browse Forums Building A New House 1 Feb 15, 2009 5:22 pm We have been in our house now for 3months (still in maintanence period) and on one of our external walls we have a vertical crack in the bricks above the sliding door. The crack is not just in the mortar. It starts in the vertical mortar then works its way up to the top, even cracking the actual bricks. It is pretty much in the middle of the sliding door below it and there is a visible bow in the steel beam that the bricks have been laid on.
We have notified our builder of the problem, and they have accepted it and say they will have the bricklayer out to investigate. This looks to be quite a large job repair wise. Do you think they will have to pull down part of the wall and replace? Our neighbour (same builder) had a similar problem before the house sold. The brickie came in and chipped out the face part of the brick and then cut a new brick in half and replaced it. Looks like brand new however is this an acceptable repair? Re: 3months into new house - cracked bricks! 4Feb 15, 2009 6:46 pm Yes, the L shaped steel beam is a lintel. It should not be visibly bowed. How many courses of brickwork are there above the lintel? Somewhat counterintuitively, it helps to have to have several courses rather than one or two. Demolition August 2009, Construction Started September 2009, Completed December 2010 Re: 3months into new house - cracked bricks! 6Feb 15, 2009 8:26 pm Well, that's certainly enough brickwork above the lintel. It will be interesting to see what the builder has to say. Should also get the structural engineer involved. The structural engineer will be able to tell if it's been built to specification (and what went wrong).
I'm interested to hear what the fault is. Demolition August 2009, Construction Started September 2009, Completed December 2010 Re: 3months into new house - cracked bricks! 7Feb 15, 2009 8:39 pm Sounds like the lintel is not up to spec!
Def need an engineer in... As for chipping and cutting a brick in half ... this is definately not acceptable. The brick will need to be removed and possibly the bricks surrounding it and they will need to be remortared. It may costs you a couple of extra dollars to get an expert in but for your and your families safety I would spend it... Re: 3months into new house - cracked bricks! 8Feb 15, 2009 8:49 pm No need to pay for an expert. There would have been a structural engineer that signed off on the build. They are liable for any cracking if the house was build to specification. The Construction Certificate should mention who the structural engineer is. Call them and tell them what's happened. They will probably volunteer to come out. Not to look after you, but themselves. Demolition August 2009, Construction Started September 2009, Completed December 2010 Re: 3months into new house - cracked bricks! 9Feb 15, 2009 11:58 pm I think a lot of people would be interested in the outcome of this one, including me. Are you going to mention the builder's name N!c? Built the C£arend0n Cambridge: Moved in. Happy campers. Here's our story on HomeOne I might be old, but I have no trouble finishing my... er... Re: 3months into new house - cracked bricks! 10Feb 16, 2009 6:00 am I prefer not to mention the builder yet - will give them the chance to resolve the problem to my satisfaction first.
I'll be contacting them today for an update as to when the bricklayer is attending. Re: 3months into new house - cracked bricks! 12Feb 26, 2009 9:13 pm Quick update:
Engineer rang today to get some more information. He is checking to see what spec the lintel is that was installed. Either way he advised that bricks would need to be removed to repair it. He mentioned that he can inspect and if its reached its maximum bend and won't bow any further then new bricks will be installed. If the spec of the lintel is wrong then it will need to be removed entirely and new one installed.. much bigger job. Re: 3months into new house - cracked bricks! 13Feb 27, 2009 7:56 am I would say that if it cracked the mortar and bricks then it has probably exceeded its max bend capacity. Remember that these things are supposed to be engineered specifically for the job that they are applied to, ie prevent bricks and mortar above doorways from cracking. I wouldnt accept a patch up job on an exterior wall, especially when your house is so new.
I hope that they realise that the lintel is under spec and replace with new for you, as your house will still be settling in its foundations for a few years to come Re: 3months into new house - cracked bricks! 14Feb 27, 2009 8:23 am Yes, I definitely would prefer them to replace the lintel with something beefier and re-lay the bricks. Even though this will cause a hug mess and we'll need to move out our entire alfresco area (lounges, tables, etc) Re: 3months into new house - cracked bricks! 15Feb 27, 2009 8:57 am I'm getting my progress inspection done on Tues - is this something that I could be checking now? are there signs showing this problem? Re: 3months into new house - cracked bricks! 16Feb 27, 2009 6:54 pm terrific that the engineer actually contacted you. at least you know he is keen to get the job sorted out. Re: 3months into new house - cracked bricks! 17Feb 27, 2009 11:17 pm stu I would say that if it cracked the mortar and bricks then it has probably exceeded its max bend capacity. Remember that these things are supposed to be engineered specifically for the job that they are applied to, ie prevent bricks and mortar above doorways from cracking. I wouldnt accept a patch up job on an exterior wall, especially when your house is so new. I hope that they realise that the lintel is under spec and replace with new for you, as your house will still be settling in its foundations for a few years to come I'd lean towards a common problem that occurs in the bricklaying industry. For whatever reason, when bricks are laid on some lintels, depending on their span one tradie will prop it and another wont? What I mean is once the brickie gets 2 or 3 courses laid over the lintel...at this point, usually a timber prop is cut to length and this props the lintel and prevents any lean (ie: cracking etc) This prop is then left in place at least for5-7 days or as long as possible to allow for the brickwork to partially cure. The veneer ties used above the lintel should then well and truly hold the brickwork and prevent any leaning, and in turn any cracking. ...previous to all of this, yes if the lintel is inadequate it will still crack, although using this method it will take alot longer.. hope this helps a little. BOOM SHANKER..!! - Neil (The Young Ones) Plumbers 'can be' plumbers, made all the worse by self certification which the building surveyor invariably accepts as proof of compliance! The good thing is that you know know. 3 4873 DIY, Home Maintenance & Repair Hi there, I just recently received my new house from my builder. We handed the house to another company to deal with the… 0 8915 2 4389 |