Originally Posted By: John Gaskin This post was automatically imported from our archived forum.
Hi!
I am buying a 3 year old house and have a general question. The house has a hairline crack over the garage in each corner moving up in a "stair-step" motion inward. My building inspector said that this was due to a sagging lintel and should not "grow", so to speak. He was not concerned.
Generally speaking, has the house settled all that it is going to settle? I believe the crack occurred early on while the mortar was drying.
There is also a small hairline crack like this on the back of the house (w elevation) at the bottom of the brick row moving up two bricks and one on the side of the house (s elevation) moving up a couple of bricks.
These cracks are only 1cm (maybe 2 max)wide approximately, and are the same width top to bottom, and only move through the mortar in a stair-step fashion. Should I be concerned?
Originally Posted By: phinsperger This post was automatically imported from our archived forum.
John Gaskin wrote:
These cracks are only 1cm (maybe 2 max)wide approximately
You did say centimeters and not millimeters. If this is correct I would not call them hairline cracks. For our US friends that would be about 3/8" (maybe 3/4" max). That's quite a crack.
John Gaskin wrote:
Generally speaking, has the house settled all that it is going to settle?
Settling is a term often used describe the initial movement of a structure. However, a house will always continue to move as temperature and humidity change. There could be some factors as well. Hopefully this movement will be minimal compared to the initial movement.
John Gaskin wrote:
I believe the crack occurred early on while the mortar was drying.
Why?
John Gaskin wrote:
Should I be concerned?
This is what it really comes down to. I would like to see some pictures first if you can get them. On a three year old house I would expect that the brick is not the main structural component. It would function as a cladding. There to protect the framing from weather, pests, jimmy's baseball, etc. Look at the foundation for cracks, bowing, etc. If the foundation is good I would seal up the crack (possibly relay the bricks if its really bad) to prevent water, etc from entering.
Originally Posted By: John Gaskin This post was automatically imported from our archived forum.
Thanks for the reply. I meant mm, not cm. The reason I said what I did about settling while the brick was drying is I had a veteran bricklayer look at it in addition to a home inspector, and he said the brickwork was fine-- both thought the cracks were from initial settlement.
I live in Mississippi, and we have hot and dry summers here. The house has a sprinkler system, and I think if I water the lawn regularly I can prevent the ground from getting too dry and cracking during those hot summer months.
I have pictures, and If I can get them scanned, I'll post them.
The house has a slab on grade foundation, but does not show any indication of cracks or problems currently.
Originally Posted By: ekartal This post was automatically imported from our archived forum.
John Gaskin wrote:
There is also a small hairline crack like this on the back of the house (w elevation) at the bottom of the brick row moving up two bricks and one on the side of the house (s elevation) moving up a couple of bricks.
Crack on side of house, another in the back. Do you mean opposing cracks at a corner? If so, that may eventually be a problem. It's really hard to say. Most problematic cracks in this area are wider at the top than the bottom.
Originally Posted By: John Gaskin This post was automatically imported from our archived forum.
Erol–
Hi! One crack is nearly in the center of the S elevation of the house, and the other is nearly in the center of the W elevation of the house. The one on the W elevation is only about 1mm thick--the other one on the W elevation is about the same except for the fact that the mortar has crumbled a little and in one instance at this same crack mortar was not even under the brick where it rested on the foundation (a bricklayer said these were the last bricks laid and the person who laid them only put mortar on the brick when laying it rather than putting mortar in the space where the brick was to be put as well as on the brick itself). Cracks appear to be same width at top and bottom of crack.
Thanks for the reply. I have learned a LOT during this homebuying experience.
Originally Posted By: dbowers This post was automatically imported from our archived forum.
John -
The most important thing to understand is that nobody including the engineers on this site can listen to you describe a crack and tell you if it is a problem or will become a problem. Hire a licensed structural engineer to evaluate them and be done with it.
Originally Posted By: afernbaugh This post was automatically imported from our archived forum.
From the description you give it sounds like the cracks may be at the upper corners of the garage door. If this is the case, it may be that the header and lintel for the garage door opening is deflecting downward due to the structural load and that the brick veneer has moved or settled in what is a “classic” upside down “V” . These cracks are usually in the joints and are about 45 degrees from vertical and travel towards a point above the center of the door forming a triangle with the header as the base. This does occur very soon after the brick work is completed as the brick adds to the loads of the lentil. I see this often down here on brick veneer exteriors. The best builders here are now using laminated beams of significant depth to minimize the deflection under load and are avoiding the brick crack problem.
Originally Posted By: rmoewe This post was automatically imported from our archived forum.
John Gaskin wrote:
The reason I said what I did about settling while the brick was drying
The mortar joints will not crack from the curing process, unless the mortar froze before it was cured. Also, the brick are fully cured when they are made. They are fire dried, just like pottery. 
These types of stair step cracks happen all of the time around here. Usually if they are not over a 1/4", "V"shaped or rotated cracks with separations more that a 1/4", you should be fine. It is hard to tell without seeing it. Most of the time it is caused by what your HI said. The lintel has sagged slightly from the load it has to carry. Usually if enough wall ties were installed during the building this will only happen around the lintel and stair step up. Brick masonry is self- supportive, (with the proper amount of wall ties installed) and the brick above the crack have remained in place from the wall ties.
You may want to also check for expansive soils in your area. Is there a lot of clay where you live?
Originally Posted By: John Gaskin This post was automatically imported from our archived forum.
[quote=“afernbaugh”]From the description you give it sounds like the cracks may be at the upper corners of the garage door. …the brick veneer has moved or settled in what is a “classic” upside down “V” . These cracks are usually in the joints and are about 45 degrees from vertical and travel towards a point above the center of the door forming a triangle with the header as the base.
This appears to be what it is doing--the upside down "V".
I understand nobody can tell me what will or will not happen when they have not seen the house--just wondering if these cracks generally tend to get worse over time.
Attached is a photo of the house where I drew where the cracks are.
Originally Posted By: John Gaskin This post was automatically imported from our archived forum.
John-
I drew the lines to demonstrate where the cracks are above the garage and what they are doing. I had no way to scan photos or take actual digital photo of cracks.
I was worried about the cracks extending over the lintel and having a mess on my hands.
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To All:
I started this thread to get some general feedback re: sagging lintels b/c I had a situation where I had an inspector look at the house and tell me it was OK. I had scheduled an engineer before home inspection and kept the appt. His report differed with building inspector, but said weird things like patches had been made and bricks replaced. I have confirmed this DID NOT happen with both neigbors and seller signed acknowledgement saying had not happened.
Since then, I have had two civil engineers, a veteran bricklayer, and a retired geological & civil engineer look at the house and agree with the home inspector that it was OK (Would you call this overkill?? Ha.  ). They all said no repair work had been made to brick veneer.
I was worried the lintel would continue to sag and perhaps cause a structural problem, but all say the lintel is substantial enough to carry the load and the crack most likely occurred within the 1st year of construction. If they are all wrong, I have a warranty by the builder for 4 years (house is 3 years old but has not sold--builder did 2 lease to owns that fell through).
Thanks for all the feedback. I have learned a lot and this is one of the best sites I have found regarding home inspections.
Originally Posted By: rmoewe This post was automatically imported from our archived forum.
John,
I was a brick mason for many years and have never bolted the lintel to the header (unless it was a commercial job with a big span). This is not a common practice in residential construction, that I have ever seen. They may do this in areas that have seismic activity.
Masonry is self-supportive, once the mortar has set. Although, an anchor in the middle of the lintel, would probably prevent the lintel from sagging. The lintel should not be attached to the building, so that it has room to expand and contract. What most likely happened, is that the support braces were taken out before the mortar was fully cured or the corners of the house have settled slightly.
Usually a header with the span of a garage door (6' plus) will have a half inch thick metal plate in-between the pieces of wood (2x10) that make up the header or a laminated beam. Check the code book for span requirements. This is what gives the header support to keep it from sagging. In a very large span (usually not the case in residential construction) an I-beam will be used as a header and the lintel is welded to the bottom of the I-beam and used as a brick shelf. This is very common in commercial construction.
