It’s a sunny morning and you’re up early. You decide to grab your coffee and take a quick stroll around your homes’ exterior to look for signs of wear. You find nothing and
are pleased until you turn the last corner of your home and stop abruptly in disbelief!
There before you in the beautiful brick masonry of your home is a huge crack! How did it get there? What do you do?
Well take a deep breath and relax. You’re not alone. Millions of homeowners experience cracks appearing in their houses every year. So don’t grab the For Sale sign just yet! Read these handy tips to understand what may be happening to your home and Call a Massachusetts Masonry professional.
1.) Settlement Cracks – These common cracks usually manifest as a ‘stair step crack’ or a crack that steps up as it moves horizontally across the wall. Found at or close to the corners of the home, wing walls and quoin corners they are common and easily repaired. Just watch and expect additional movement if the settlement has not stopped.
2.) Thermal Expansion Cracks – A vertical or stair step crack usually located in the upper portions of the masonry can be caused by thermal expansion. Bricks walls expand when heated by the sun and if expansion joints are not present, can cause cracks. These cracks appear anywhere within the surface of the sunny wall or in close proximity to abutting walls
3.) Steel Expansion Cracks – Another common crack occurs at the upper corners of doorways, garage doors, windows or any opening. The usual culprit is the steel that supports the masonry above these openings. This is due to the daily and seasonal differential movement between the steel and the brick materials which expand at different rates.
4.) Bulging or Bowed Wall Cracks – Cracks can appear throughout an entire wall or the wall is bulged, bowed in or out or has sunken. This is a serious issue and is usually the symptom of age related failure or structural failure due to improper reinforcement of the masonry. This type of problem needs immediate attention.
Solution to all the above problems: Contact a Massachusetts Masonry professional right away.
It is always a good idea to check your home annually for signs of cracking or structural damage in the bricks on your home.
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