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Repair Cracked Brick: How Professional Solutions Prevent Bigger Problems

Have you noticed a crack along the brickwork on the side of your home? While it might seem tempting to cover it with grout, this is only a temporary fix. The problem is often deeper, likely rooted in your home’s structural stability and general health.

Noticing the signs of damage is the first step in protecting your home. We’ll explain how our experts can identify the cause and create the best brick wall crack repair plan for you. 

What Causes Brick Damage In Your Home?

  • Foundation settlement: The ‘Home of the Blues’ has clay-heavy soil, which can cause foundation settlement that creates uneven sinking problems. This puts strain on the structure and can cause cracks in brick walls as the foundation shifts. Over time, these cracks widen and can result in sections of the home breaking away from the rest.
  • Soil conditions: Memphis and surrounding areas have an expansive soil structure that expands and contracts with moisture changes, which puts pressure on the foundation and can cause a cracked brick wall.  
  • Foundation weakness: A weak foundation may crack under the home’s weight or due to hydrostatic pressure, street creep, or frost heave. Poor design, substandard materials, or unstable soil can all contribute to foundation weakness, leading to settling and structural damage.
  • Water issues: Heavy moisture from rainfall, plumbing issues like leaking pipes, or poor drainage can weaken the foundation, leading to cracks in the brickwork. Water can seep into the bricks, causing erosion and instability.
  • Construction work: Heavy machinery and excavation can cause ground vibrations that disturb the soil and foundation, creating brick cracks. Altering load-bearing structures or cutting into walls can further weaken brickwork, increasing the risk of damage.
  • Tree roots: Tree roots can widen foundation cracks, shifting the structure and stressing brick walls. They also absorb moisture, causing soil shrinkage and uneven settling, which can lead to further cracking.

What Could Happen If You Don’t Fix Brick Cracks?

  • Wall damage: Cracks spread over time, weakening walls and potentially affecting the foundation. They can also create entry points for pests and moisture.
  • Property-wide issues: A single cracked wall may indicate a larger problem. If multiple walls show damage, it could signal foundation settlement or poor construction, affecting your entire home. Identifying and addressing the root cause early can prevent costly repairs.
  • Expensive repairs: For the most part, cracked bricks do indicate an underlying problem with your home’s foundation. If you don’t take action, the problem will only get worse and more costly over time. 
  • Pest intrusion: Small cracks create gaps that allow small pests and insects to get inside. Larger cracks can invite rodents and other small animals.

Can you fix it yourself? 

Homeowners can handle minor repairs like filling small cracks, but most issues are too complex for DIY brick crack repair. If the cracks are due to a foundation problem, which is often the case, professional intervention is essential. 

Incorrect repairs can worsen the damage, so it’s best to trust trained experts who have the expertise and tools to properly diagnose and address the underlying cause, ensuring the longevity and durability of your home.

How can you repair brick the right way?

Now that you know cracked or bulging brick repair is much more than an aesthetic fix, it’s important to address the root cause of the damage. Our qualified professionals can assess whether settling, moisture, or other factors are to blame and recommend the appropriate solution, such as foundation piers, wall anchors, or carbon fiber support straps. Talk to a local expert today to learn more about your home’s problems and how to fix them.

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How do you get started?   

Get in touch with Groundworks for a free inspection. The local expert team is ready to repair your brick wall and improve your home’s structural integrity.

It can be tempting to think about just grouting directly over certain cracked bricks to get rid of the crack. However, grouting over the cracked bricks isn’t the type of fix that you’re looking for. It’s more of a surface-level fix that won’t do much.

  • An Aesthetic Fix 

Grouting over the cracked bricks is, for the most part, a purely aesthetic fix that won’t address the underlying problem which caused the cracks in the first place. Instead of fixing the crack itself, it just makes the crack look better for a short time. You’re not tackling the root of the problem, which means the crack will open up again in the future, probably worse than it is right now, or it could even cause more problems like wall and floor collapses.

Of course, these aesthetic fixes will no doubt be a part of the overall solution once you have had an expert assess and address the underlying problems which caused the cracks. By combining the aesthetic fixes with proper solutions, a professional will make sure that your house is strong, stable, and aesthetically pleasing–just the way it was before the damage occurred. 

  • A Permanent Fix

You must consider the long-term benefits of contacting an expert that can help you manage your cracked bricks instead. Grouting over cracked bricks is just a temporary fix, which means it’s not something that you’ll be able to maintain for a long time. A Groundworks expert can help you with a much more permanent solution.

Our team has been trained to the highest possible standard to give every client the best possible results as well as service with a smile. Whether the root cause of your cracks is street creep or foundation settlement, we will help you to find a tailored solution that works for you.

For the most part, cracked bricks do indicate an underlying problem with your home’s foundation. Despite this, there are still some situations where your cracked bricks might not indicate an overarching concern. Here’s what you should know about the situation.

  • Non-Indicative of a Foundation Problem

In general, the only time you may see cracked bricks that don’t have anything to do with a foundation problem is if they’re in a very specific area of the home and they happened because of an impact. An impact can cause cracks in the foundation that don’t necessarily indicate an underlying foundation concern. In this case, repairing the cracks themselves may be enough.

Depending on the size, depth, and type of cracks that you are dealing with, repair may take many forms. If sections of your home have sunk, for example, it may be best to lift them back into place before filling or covering the cracks. A professional will be able to advise you on this matter and make sure that you get a fitting solution that restores your home to its proper state.

  •  Indicative of a Foundation Problem 

If you see cracked bricks for no reason, it’s almost always because of a foundation concern. You should generally assume that brick cracks are a foundation concern. This foundation concern needs to be something that you manage early on because if you don’t, you’ll find it usually turns into something much worse. Foundation problems have a way of getting worse very quickly.

Other signs of foundation damage include persistent dampness, water pooling in your basement, mold formation, uneven floors, and gaps between your walls, floors, and ceiling. These last signs of structural damage are very serious and indicate that the problem is advanced. As such, you should get in touch with a foundation repair specialist as soon as possible.

It is a good idea to pay attention to the direction of your concrete cracks, especially if they’re in your basement foundation. However, even if you see a type of crack that doesn’t indicate serious foundation failure, you should have an expert check out the crack to make sure there’s nothing to worry about.

  • Horizontal Cracks

Horizontal cracks typically mean the walls are bowing in or out. In the basement, it’s much more common to see the walls bowing in from hydrostatic pressure, but in above-ground rooms, the walls may bow outward slightly. This outward bowing can be caused by excessive pressure or a lack of support. Either way, a horizontal crack typically indicates that the top and bottom of the wall are no longer in alignment.

As this issue progresses, you will notice several signs. In addition to initial bowing or bulging and cracking, you will also start to notice gaps between your walls and the ceiling or floor. As this problem progresses, you run a real risk of seeing a wall collapse entirely. As such, it’s best to deal with this issue quickly.

  • Stair-Step Cracks 

Stair-step cracks can indicate many issues, but are most commonly signs of foundation settlement, especially in a brick wall. This typically occurs when one side of the wall has started to sink, but the other side hasn’t. Due to weight shifting, this can leave one side unsupported, resulting in stair-step cracks as the mortar between bricks begins to give way.

Stair-step cracks can be hard to notice at first because of their positioning between bricks. Look for darker patches of mortar between bricks, moss forming in focussed locations, and crumbling sections of mortar. Once the damage progresses, of course, you won’t be able to ignore it; stair-step cracks can be very large, and the bricks affected will begin to break away.

  • Diagonal Cracks

Diagonal cracks coming from the edges of the concrete or the corners of windows and doors typically indicate you’re experiencing some sort of foundation failure. They’re commonly the concrete and drywall equivalent to stair-step cracks, indicating that there’s a weight problem or a problem with weight distribution somewhere in the area. These cracks are usually accompanied by some kind of dampness issues.

Diagonal cracks are far easier to notice than stair-step cracks for two main reasons. Firstly, they are more likely to form on the inside of your home than stair-step cracks. Secondly, diagonal cracks can spread vertically with greater speed – this means that they are likely to reach eye level more quickly. If you see diagonal cracks weeping water, please contact a professional straight away; this can lead to wall collapse very quickly.

Ted Dryce

Ted Dryce

Content Writer

Ted is an SEO Content Writer who has been with Groundworks since 2021. He’s covered home repair topics ranging from crawl space encapsulation to regional soil conditions. When he’s not working, Ted is performing improv comedy and working on his own creative projects.