How To Repair Cracks In Exterior Brick Work

Huge vertical crack on a brick wall. — WiP-Studio / Shutterstock.com

Brick buildings give a presence of sturdy structures. With many homeowners embracing the "exposed brick" wait on their homes, there are bound to feel some problems. Brick cracks are a common issue for brick walls. While this problem doesn't e'er bespeak serious structural impairment, cracked brickwork can make your home prone to water damages and mould.

There are two main ways brick walls form cracks – either through a natural disaster like earthquakes or with time.

Most of the time, the cracks in your brick wall can be fixed, and so information technology shouldn't exist a meaning trouble. However, it's non a problem to underestimate, every bit cracks tend to spread and get larger apace.

Types of wall cracks
- Depending on their location
- Depending on their direction
- Depending on their depth
What causes cracks in brick walls
- Soil subsidence
- Climate and seasonal changes
- Corrosion and deterioration of building materials
- Structure works in your area
- Reactive soils in your area
- Trees shut to the house
How to repair cracks in brick walls
- Tools you need
- How to repair cracked brick walls footstep-by-step
When cracked brick walls become a problem
How can you foreclose brick walls from swell
How much does it toll to prepare cracked bricks

Types of wall cracks

There are different types of wall cracks, and all of them tin can exist defined on their location, form and depth.

Depending on their location

Depending on their location crack walls can be classified as:

Interior wall cracks – a blazon of cracks inside your house. They can announced on plasterboard, ceiling, etc.
Outside wall cracks – they appear on the outside of your house, on brick walls, masonry, concrete, etc.
Foundation wall cracks – these are cracks that appear in the foundation walls and are the ones that tin cause serious bug.

Types of cracks by management

Every brick wall is held together with mortar in between the bricks. Most often, that mortar breaks and that'south the cause of the problem. The problem is that mortar related problems are prone to become bigger over fourth dimension, which may lead to serious structural damage.

Horizontal brick cracks

Horizontal cracks are caused by movements in the foundation and the depreciation of materials affecting the walls. They frequently announced on older houses as the materials tend to lose their stretch with the years.

Vertical brick cracks

Vertical cracks are most often met in warmer climates. Their characteristic is that vertical bricks can announced in the mortar and brick, effectively splitting the brick in two. Nigh ever, vertical cracks are caused by thermal expansion, which leads to motility of the material, which results in vertical cracks.

Brick veneer cracks

Brick veneer cracks are zig-zag cracks that follow the mortar line effectually the bricks. While this crack may seem a uncomplicated prepare, as they appear only in the mortar, it'due south often the telltale sign of serious structural impairment.

Types of cracks past depth

Structural

Structurally related cracks can crusade large problems for homeowners. They are often deep and bear on the structural strength of the building, sometimes fifty-fifty making information technology unsafe to live in. They oft appear later an earthquake or because of a desperately build construction in the first place.

Corrective

Cosmetic cracks are often only merely that – corrective. Often caused past sudden changes in temperatures or past constant exposure to extreme heaths, this crack does not affect the house's structure and is often regarded every bit an easy fix. Keep in mind, however, that neglected cosmetic cracks can plow into structural cracks with time.

What causes cracks in brick walls

Soil subsidence

It all starts with the construction of the house. To place the foundations of a edifice, soil digging has been done. With time the ground settles downwards, and the foundation of the business firm moves a picayune. This movement can cause pocket-size vertical cracks, often not a trouble.

Depending on the type of soil that your house is built upon, your house may experience more desperate motion, that can damage the house significantly.

Natural disasters like earthquakes, floods and hurricanes can impairment the foundation of your business firm significantly.

Climate and seasonal changes

The materials that our houses are built with respond quite a lot to the climate conditions and seasonal changes. Rain and water tin impairment both the walls and foundations, likewise equally long periods of drought.

Pro tip: Garden sprinkles, leaking pipes and blocked gutters tin can also cause cracks if the brick wall is constantly exposed to h2o.

Corrosion and deterioration of building materials

Building materials don't final forever. Weather, gravity and bad maintenance bear upon our structures constantly.

The building reinforcement is decumbent to corrosion, particularly if the concrete foundation is non done properly. Cracks in the foundations, betrayal the steel reinforcement to wet which tin can cause rusting and may pb to brick wall cracks.

Construction works in your area

If you alive shut to a structure site, this can affect the brick walls. The vibration from the regular use of heavy machines, excavation, digging etc may cause your brick walls to fissure.

Pro tip: If this happens, you need to take immediate actions and inform the legal authorities.

Reactive soils in your expanse

Some types of soils, such as clay, are reactive to moisture because it expands when moist and cracks and shrinks when dry.

If your firm is built on dirt soil, this reaction may cause it to move slightly and crusade the appearance of small wall cracks.

Luckily, in well-nigh cases, these types of cracks are just corrective and tin can be fixed hands. If the cracks are wider than 3 mm and grow over fourth dimension, you should take the problem seriously and call a professional to inspect your property.

Trees close to the house

Big trees shut to your house can contribute to brick wall smashing. Their root structures are invasive and can damage the foundation of your firm. They also need a lot of water, thus can affect the wet in the soil.

Every bit we mentioned above, dry soil can also cause wall cracks.

How to repair cracks in brick walls

Tools y'all demand:

Safety Goggles
Raking Bar
Chisel
Hammer
Wire brush
Brick Jointer
Pointer

How to repair croaky brick walls step-by-step

Remove the cracked mortar from the brick wall
Remove the former cracked horizontal mortar from the joints using a raking bar. Be careful not to harm the bricks and don't go deeper than 1.five – 2 cm in the wall.
Remove the vertical joints at the finish of the bricks equally well. To do so, apply a chisel and a hammer. Tap the chisel with the hammer until y'all fissure the mortar. Don't become deeper than 1.5 – 2cm. Utilize a wire castor and gently scrub the empty joints to ensure all the excess mortar is removed.

Pro tip: Make sure all the excess mortar is removed. This way, you'll avert air or water in the infinite behind it and will prolong the life of your wall.
Spray the brick wall
After all the mortar is removed, y'all'll demand to spray the wall with water. A dry out brick wall will suck upwardly all the h2o from the new mortar, causing the wall to crack all over again.
Patch the joints with mortar
After the mortar is mixed well and matches your wall color, take a brick jointer and push the mortar into the joints. Be careful not to leave any empty holes.
When mixing the mortar, don't make it too hard. As we mentioned, bricks tend to expand depending on the weather conditions, and if the mortar is too hard, it will crack over again and crusade even further damage.
Point the brick wall
Put some water on the pointer and push it into the articulation to flatten the mortar.

When croaky brick walls go a trouble

The size, location and direction of the cracks can assist you lot identify when you demand to take immediate actions, but sometimes brick wall cracks can affect your whole firm.

Every bit we mentioned above, brick wall cracks can be a cause of a serious problem, or cause one in the future.

Doors and windows

If doors or windows are sticking or can't be opened or closed properly, and the problem is not in the interior of your home, this can be a sign of a structural movement.

Walls and ceiling

If nails or screws are popping out of the walls, or if you lot notice cracks in the interior walls or ceiling, this can also be a sign of a serious upshot. Cracks between the walls and the ceiling is a sign of a structural upshot.

Floors

Croaky, swelling floors are too a problem giveaway. You lot can check if the floor is even by rolling a brawl across the whole room. If the ball doesn't go straight to the other end of the wall, then you lot accept a trouble.

How can yous preclude brick walls from nifty

To prevent brick walls from cracking brand sure you're taking the proper intendance of your house' walls.

Use expansion joints in the brick walls

Expansion joints will preclude the wall from bang-up when exposed to temperature changes and moisture exposure.

Remove all temporary shims

Brand sure all temporary shims used when building the property are removed from the walls. Well-nigh of the shims are made of stainless steel, and removing them will forbid the wall from rusting and keen,

Don't use incompressible materials in the joints

Fireboard, veneer and similar materials are non flexible. Avoid using them in the joints to prevent smashing.

How much does it cost to set croaky bricks

Repairing brick wall cracks can be very expensive if there are structural problems in your property. So don't ignore the problem! Fixing brick wall cracks as before long every bit you discover them can save you tons of coin.

Sometimes repairing the fissure from the outside is a temporary solution to a serious problem. Then be sure to call a professional handyman to inspect the condition of your belongings.

Have that trouble? Volume Fantastic Handymen

The professionals deal with croaky brick walls on a regular footing.

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Source: https://fantastichandyman.com.au/blog/brick-wall-cracks-guide/

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