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Brick effloresence & mortar loss & spalling © D Friedman at InspectApedia.com Brick Foundation & Brick Wall Defects, Failures, Collapses

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Brick foundation and wall problems:

This article explains how to recognize, diagnose, & repair brick foundation & brick wall defects & failures such as cracks, spalling, movement, bulging, leaks, damage due to impact, settlement, frost or water damage, and other problems.

We describe types of brick foundation or wall cracks, crack patterns, differences in the meaning of cracks in different brick wall types (veneer vs. structural or solid brick walls), and where there is brick wall damage, the role of site conditions, building history, and other causes of building movement and damage.

We discuss the following: Examples & list of structural & other failures in brick walls & foundations. Damage caused to brick structures due to thermal expansion of long brick walls lacking expansion joints. Damage to brick veneer walls - cracks, bulges, loose brick.

A catalog of types of brick foundation and brick wall damage and defects. Types of foundation damage organized by foundation materials. Photographs of brick wall damage patterns and types.

This information helps in recognizing foundation defects and to help the building owner or inspector separate cosmetic or low-risk conditions from those likely to be important and potentially costly to repair.

InspectAPedia tolerates no conflicts of interest. We have no relationship with advertisers, products, or services discussed at this website.

How to Recognize & Diagnose Brick Foundation & Brick Wall Defects & Failures

Examples of structural & other failures in brick walls & foundations

Photograph of structural damage to a brick wall ...

Brick wall settlement: These photographs of a Canadian brick structure (courtesy Carson Dunlop Associates ) show what is probably old and recurrent structural damage to a brick building in its above-ground walls.

Photograph of structural damage to a brick wall

We suspect there has been ongoing foundation settlement below these problem areas. [Click any image to see an enlarged, detailed version]

Photograph of a collapsing brick structure, a historic stable in Saugerties NY

Further inspection and investigation were warranted.

Watch out: Any movement in a structural brick wall which risks having broken the bond courses in the wall, and any movement in a brick veneer wall which has broken or loosened the connections between the veneer to the underlying structure are potentially dangerous and risk collapsing masonry!

Also see BRICK VENEER WALL LOOSE, BULGED.

Structural brick wall collapse: This historic brick structure, the Sheffield Stablesin Saugerties, NY, had already begun to collapse when we inspected its condition. The root cause of failure was water from roof leaks and at the building right side (not visible) in-slope grade and surface runoff which soaked the structure's lower foundation walls and permitted frost damage.

As bond coursed break and walls bulge, structures of this type are unstable and dangerous.

It is likely that considerable portions of this structure will need to be removed before repairs can begin. Inside we observed other evidence of collapsing foundations below other walls and we considered this building dangerous to enter.

Vassar Farm brick structure repair details give history of and amount of brick wall movement (C) Daniel Friedman at InspectApedia.com

Above: portions of the brick wall at this Vassar College Farm property have been reconstructed. Notice those small brick in-fills pointed out by our yellow arrows and the red plumb-line dropped down the corner of the building with three small red arrows?

The yellow arrows point out that when this brick side-wall was repaired the front of the building had bulged outwards enough that to bring the side wall to the front corner, using full-sized stretcher -course bricks was not enough; additional in-fill using small brick cuts was needed.

The red plumb line dropped at the corner combined with our three small red arrows illustrate how one can measure the amount of outwards bulge in the front brick wall on this structure.

See details at BULGE or LEAN MEASUREMENTS

Brick Wall Parapet Damage: Collapse Risk

Brick parpet wall cracked and leaning: collapse risk and dangerous (C) Daniel Friedman at InspectApedia.com ...

This brick parapet wall on a Poughkeepsie New York market illustrates a common damage point on low slope and flat roof brick buildings that include a raised parapet wall at the rooftop.

Brick parpet wall cracked and leaning: collapse risk and dangerous (C) Daniel Friedman at InspectApedia.com

The most-common cause of damage at the base of the parapet wall is improper, leaky, damaged, or missing flashing between the roof surface and the bottom of the parapet wall.

Particularly in a freezing climate, water entering the parapet wall base freezes, causing damage to the parapet and risking a dangerous parapet wall collapse.

Freezing water isn't the only situation in which a brick parapet wall may collapse. Below: a collapsed brick parapet wall in Tucson, Arizona.

Collapsed brick parapet wall in Tucson (C) Daniel Friedman at InspectApedia.com

Structural Brick Foundation Collapse Hazards

Collapsing brick foundation wall (C) InspectApedia.com & 58foundations.com used with permission Cherie Wicks 2022

Photo above: a badly-bulged collapsing brick foundation wall, photo courtesy of Cherie Wicks at '58Foundations a U.S. foundation repair company cited in more-detail at the end of this page.

Notice that in addition to the severely-bulged wall at the center and right side of the photo (red arrow), the opposing wall in the distance, below that window, shows step cracking and movement as well (yellow arrow).

Notice also the blue water pressure tank that's tipping over (white arrow)?

A burst water pipe can flood the basement, speeding foundation collapse as well as risking costly mold contamination in the building if those conditions are not addressed promptly.

We've asked the company to describe the cause of and cure for this damage and to give us more details about the building's age and location, and about what foundation repairs were made, and about how the building was supported to prevent a collapse before and during that work.

Watch out: if you find conditions like this in a building the building is immediately considered very unsafe, and is at risk for structural collapse.

Occupants could be injured or even killed. It may be possible for an expert to provide temporary support for the structure, but this foundation will will need to be re-built and the cause of its damage identified and corrected.

Below we show a different home at which the collapsing foundation has been excavated to begin repair by a foundation re-construction.

Photograph of a collapsed brick strudctural wall

We can see that this collapsed brick wall was a structural brick foundation, and the soil piled up suggests it was done in by pressure from wet earth - a drainage or roof drainage problem may have been the root cause of this collapse.

Photograph above courtesy of Alan Carson, Carson Dunlop Associates, a Toronto home inspection & education company.

Some common brick foundation wall or brick structural wall defects to be observed and reported are listed next.

Types of Brick Foundation & Brick Wall Damage & Defects

Schematic of a solid brick foundation wall (C) Carson Dunlop AssociatesThis sketch of the components of a preserved solid brick foundation with masonry exterior walls is courtesy of Carson Dunlop Associates, a Toronto home inspection, education & report writing tool company [ carsondunlop.com ].

Step cracks in brick wall © D Friedman at InspectApedia.com Lintel rust in brick wall © D Friedman at InspectApedia.com

Wood nailer inserted into a structural brick wall (C) Daniel Friedman at InspectApedia.com ...

Photos above: wood nailing strips inserted into a structural brick wall, either about the thickness of a brick course (first photo) or, in our second photo, courtesy of home inspector L. Transue, just the thickness of a mortar joint.

Wood strip nailer inserted into brick wall mortar joint (C) InspectApedia.com TransueL

[Click to enlarge any image]

Insect damaged door (C) Daniel Friedman San Miguel de Allende Mexico

Spalling bricks © D Friedman at InspectApedia.com

Exfoliating rust steel lintel damages brick wall (C) Daniel Friedman at InspectApedia.com ...

Above & below: rusting steel lintel, or exfoliating rust damage, close-up photos in a brick structure.

Exfoliating rust steel lintel damages brick wall (C) Daniel Friedman at InspectApedia.com

Brick wall settlement showing up at windows (C) Daniel Friedman at InspectApedia.com

Thermal expansion cracks in a brick veneer, Poughkeepsie NY Jewish Community Center (C) Daniel Friedman at InspectApedia.com

Above: Thermal expansion cracking in the Jewish Community Center brick building, Poughkeepsie, NY, inspected by the author in 1989.

Tuckpointing mismatched mortar brick wall © Daniel Friedman at InspectApedia.com

Structural brick wall with rain screen opening between wythes © D Friedman at InspectApedia.com

Methods of Detection of Hidden Cracks or Other Structural Damage in Concrete & Masonry Walls & Foundations

Question: Is it possible to detect cracks in brick walls or concrete walls and slabs that are hidden from view by plaster?

2017/05/29 Parth Bathia said:

Is it possible to detect cracks in brick walls or concrete walls and slabs that are hidden from view by plaster?

Like there is no through and through air pockets.

If there is a way. I want to know how is it possible to detect the same.

I get the use of thermal imaging but that is only possible for detecting temperatures on surface.

I want something that might be able to detect cracks that is hidden about 6 - 8 inches inside the walls without breaking or damaging the wall.

Reply:

What an interesting question; thank you. I have some obvious and some speculative answers:

1. obvious cracks will often show up through plaster if there is ongoing movement in the masonry wall that has been plastered-over, either as plaster cracks or sometimes as a plaster bulge.

2. With thermal imaging there is a small chance you'd see a wall crack IF the crack were leaking water AND you happen to scan the wall when the leak is enough in quantity and lower temperature to show up as a temperature variation - but I'd consider such "detection" speculative.

3. There are non-destructive testing methods (such as the Echo Impact method) that can find cracks or voids in masonry structures, though in my opinion those are going to work best on placed (poured) concrete that would not be expected to have many voids.

A structural brick wall will usually have an interior wall cavity and may have many other smaller voids that can be confusing when using an echo-impact masonry void detector.

Please see CONCRETE or MASONRY DAMAGE TESTS where we provide descriptions of tools and methods that address your question and requirements.

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