Brick Foundation & Brick Wall Defects, Failures, Collapses InspectAPedia® -
This article explains How to Recognize & Diagnose Brick Foundation & Brick Wall Defects & Failures
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 foundation damage patterns and types
Questions & answers about structural brick foundations & walls: diagnosis, defects, & repairs, risks of collapse
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This article explains How to Recognize & Diagnose Brick Foundation & Brick Wall Defects & Failures such as
damage due to impact, settlement, frost or water damage, and other causes.
Types of foundation cracks, crack patterns, differences in the meaning of cracks in different foundation materials, site conditions, building history,
and other evidence of building movement and damage are described to
assist in recognizing foundation defects and to help the inspector separate cosmetic or low-risk conditions from
those likely to be important and potentially costly to repair.
How to Recognize & Diagnose Brick Foundation & Brick Wall Defects & Failures
Examples of structural & other failures in brick walls & foundations
Brick wall settlement: These photographs of a Canadian brick structure (courtesy Carson Dunlop) show what is probably old and recurrent structural damage to a brick building in its above-ground
walls. We suspect there has been ongoing foundation settlement below these problem areas.
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 in 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.
Structural brick foundation collapse: 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.
[Three photographs courtesy of Alan Carson, Carson Dunlop, Toronto]
Some common brick foundation wall or brick structural wall defects to be observed and reported include:
A List of Types of Brick Foundation & Brick Wall Damage & Defects
This sketch of the components of a preserved solid brick foundation with masonry exterior walls is courtesy of Carson Dunlop.
Bulging brick above-ground walls: this is likely to be a bond-brick or bond-course failure - potentially extremely dangerous and very urgent - can presage sudden catastrophic building collapse! More details of structural brick wall failures are at , at BRICK VENEER WALL Loose, Bulged and at BULGED vs. LEANING FOUNDATIONS.
Cracks and Bulges in brick foundation walls: frost and earth loading - can push a below-grade brick foundation wall inwards.
Often the wall is bulged inwards into a basement or crawl area
as well as showing horizontal and step cracking and loose bricks over the bulged area. Damage occurs from slightly above ground level to roughly
the frost line.More details are at and at BULGED vs. LEANING FOUNDATIONS.
Diagonal or Stair-Stepped Cracks and loose bricks in walls: these brick wall crack patterns are typically due to frost, settlement, sometimes thermal expansion (Thermal Expansion Cracking of Brick), usually diagonal or stair-stepped, often at building corners where
roof spillage is concentrated. These may be found in both structural brick walls (BRICK VENEER WALL Loose, Bulged) and brick veneer walls (BRICK VENEER WALL Loose, Bulged)
Loose bricks and missing or lost mortar: and movement where mortar is severely washed-out by roof spillage or other water movement against the foundation.
Loose and lost bricks may also occur where wood blocks, originally set into a wall to permit nailing of interior components, is
damaged by insects or decay. Similarly, if wood joists are damaged and bend excessively or collapse (insect damage, rot, fire) the
collapsing joist can, as its in-wall end moves, damage the foundation or building wall. (Fire cuts on wood joists in
brick walls were intended to minimize this damage source by angling the end of the joist where it was set into the wall pocket.)
Sand-blasted bricks which have been "cleaned" of old paint, algae, or stains using high pressure sand blasting or possibly
even very high pressure water blasting can be permanently damaged by loss of the harder surface of the bricks which had been provided
by their original firing. Once the softer internal brick has been exposed, the bricks will be more inclined to absorb water and to
suffer water and (in northern climates) frost damage. Sandblasting brick is considered a poor practice in building renovation and maintenance.
Spalling bricks: spalling is caused by water and frost, such as
water leaking into a brick structure at any entry point: a crack, a brick which has lost its hard surface,
or at openings by window and door penetrations. But beware about caulking brick - review our next item.
Exfoliating-rust damage to brick or other masonry walls(improperly) occurs when brick walls have been improperly caulked
where caulking should have been omitted. The most common example of this defect is the damage that occurs to a brick
wall when a steel lintel over a window or door is caulked tightly between the brick and the steel. Moisture penetrating the brick
wall through cracks or mortar joints is trapped around the steel lintel. Rust developing on steel lintels has tremendous
lifting power as the rusting exfoliating metal expands, sufficient to crack and damage bricks around lintel. We inspected a Manhattan
apartment building which suffered multi-million damage to its brick exterior after a new "super" insisted on caulking tightly all
of the steel window lintels.
Improper repair mortar used during "repair work", tuckpointing bricks, or re-pointing bricks can cause
surface spalling of bricks if the mason uses a too-hard mortar high-portland content mortar on soft brick in a climate
exposed to freezing weather. The high
portland content means that the mortar will be not only harder, but more waterproof than the surrounding brick.
Water trapped around the hard mortar can freeze leading to surface spalling of the bricks. This is particularly likely to
be seen when a wall has been tuckpointed using hard high-portland mortar where originally a soft high-lime mortar was used and where
the original bricks were soft.
FOUNDATION CRACK EVALUATION discusses detail the process of evaluating foundation cracks and signs of foundation damage by examining the crack size, shape, pattern, and location.
FOUNDATION BULGE or LEAN MEASUREMENTS explains a simple method for determining how much bulge or lean is present in a foundation or wall,
FOUNDATION MOVEMENT ACTIVE vs. STATIC helps determine if the foundation movement is ongoing,
FOUNDATION DAMAGE SEVERITY discusses how we decide the severity of foundation damage and the urgency of further action.
FOUNDATION FAILURES by TYPE & MATERIAL describes the types of foundation damage, cracks, leaks, or other defects associated with each type of foundation material (concrete, brick, stone, concrete block, etc.).
We continue discussing how to inspect and diagnose brick foundations and walls
at: Brick Thermal Expansion Cracking
and how to recognize and evaluate it, and what causes thermal cracks in brick foundation walls or building walls
is discussed and illustrated at
Brick Thermal Expansion Cracking.
Questions & Answers regarding this article
Questions & answers about structural brick foundations & walls: diagnosis, defects, & repairs, risks of collapse
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Thanks to Alan Carson, Carson Dunlop, Associates, Toronto, for technical critique and some of the foundation inspection photographs cited in these articles
Brick Development Association, The Building Centre, 26 Store Street, London, WC1E 7BT, England, U.K., Tel: 020 7323 7030, Email: brick@brick.org.uk
Brick Industry Association, 1850 Centennial Park Drive, Suite 301, Reston, VA 20191
Phone: 703.620.0010 Fax: 703.620.3928.
Canada Masonry Centre, 360 Superior Blvd., Mississauga ON Canada L5T 2N7. Tel: (905) 564-6622. Offers the CMCA Textbook of Canadian Masonry.
"Concrete Slab Finishes and the Use of the F-number System", Matthew Stuart, P.E., S.E., F.ASCE, online course at www.pdhonline.org/courses/s130/s130.htm
"Concrete Slab Finishes and the Use of the F-number System", Matthew Stuart, P.E., S.E., F.ASCE, online course at www.pdhonline.org/courses/s130/s130.htm
Sal Alfano - Editor, Journal of Light Construction*
Thanks to Alan Carson, Carson Dunlop, Associates, Toronto, for technical critique and some of the foundation inspection photographs cited in these articles
Arlene Puentes, ASHI, October Home Inspections - (845) 216-7833 - Kingston NY
Greg Robi, Magnum Piering - 800-822-7437 - National*
Dave Rathbun, P.E. - Geotech Engineering - 904-622-2424 FL*
Ed Seaquist, P.E., SIE Assoc. - 301-269-1450 - National
Dave Wickersheimer, P.E. R.A. - IL, professor, school of structures division, UIUC - University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign School of Architecture. Professor Wickersheimer specializes in structural failure investigation and repair for wood and masonry construction. * Mr. Wickersheimer's engineering consulting service can be contacted at HDC Wickersheimer Engineering Services. (3/2010)
*These reviewers have not returned comment 6/95
FOUNDATION CRACK EVALUATION discusses detail the process of evaluating foundation cracks and signs of foundation damage by examining the crack size, shape, pattern, and location. FOUNDATION BULGE or LEAN MEASUREMENTS explains a simple method for determining how much bulge or lean is present in a foundation or wall, FOUNDATION MOVEMENT ACTIVE vs. STATIC helps determine if the foundation movement is ongoing, FOUNDATION DAMAGE SEVERITY discusses how we decide the severity of foundation damage and the urgency of further action. FOUNDATION FAILURES by TYPE & MATERIAL describes the types of foundation damage, cracks, leaks, or other defects associated with each type of foundation material (concrete, brick, stone, concrete block, etc.).
Books & Articles on Building & Environmental Inspection, Testing, Diagnosis, & Repair
Our recommended books about building & mechanical systems design, inspection, problem diagnosis, and repair, and about indoor environment and IAQ testing, diagnosis, and cleanup are at the InspectAPedia Bookstore. Also see our Book Reviews - InspectAPedia.
The Home Reference Book - the Encyclopedia of Homes, Carson Dunlop & Associates, Toronto, Ontario, 2010, $69.00 U.S., is available from Carson Dunlop. The Home Reference Book is a bound volume of more than 450 illustrated pages that assist home inspectors and home owners in the inspection and detection of problems on buildings. The text is intended as a reference guide to help building owners operate and maintain their home effectively. InspectAPedia.com ® editor Daniel Friedman is a contributing author. Field inspection worksheets are included at the back of the volume.
Diagnosing & Repairing House Structure Problems, Edgar O. Seaquist, McGraw Hill, 1980 ISBN 0-07-056013-7 (obsolete, incomplete, missing most diagnosis steps, but very good reading; out of print but used copies are available at Amazon.com, and reprints are available from some inspection tool suppliers). Ed Seaquist was among the first speakers invited to a series of educational conferences organized by D Friedman for ASHI, the American Society of Home Inspectors, where the topic of inspecting the in-service condition of building structures was first addressed.
Defects and Deterioration in Buildings: A Practical Guide to the Science and Technology of Material Failure, Barry Richardson, Spon Press; 2d Ed (2001), ISBN-10: 041925210X, ISBN-13: 978-0419252108. Quoting: A professional reference designed to assist surveyors, engineers, architects and contractors in diagnosing existing problems and avoiding them in new buildings. Fully revised and updated, this edition, in new clearer format, covers developments in building defects, and problems such as sick building syndrome. Well liked for its mixture of theory and practice the new edition will complement Hinks and Cook's student textbook on defects at the practitioner level.
"Avoiding Foundation Failures," Robert Marshall, Journal of Light Construction, July, 1996 (Highly recommend this article-DF)
"A Foundation for Unstable Soils," Harris Hyman, P.E., Journal of Light Construction, May 1995
"Backfilling Basics," Buck Bartley, Journal of Light Construction, October 1994
"Inspecting Block Foundations," Donald V. Cohen, P.E., ASHI Reporter, December 1998. This article in turn cites the Fine Homebuilding article noted below.
"When Block Foundations go Bad," Fine Homebuilding, June/July 1998
Masonry structures: The Masonry House, Home Inspection of a Masonry Building & Systems, Stephen Showalter (director, actor), DVD, Quoting: Movie Guide Experienced home inspectors and new home inspectors alike are sure to learn invaluable tips in this release designed to take viewers step-by-step through the home inspection process. In addition to being the former president of the National Association of Home Inspectors (NAHI), a longstanding member of the NAHI, the American Society of Home Inspectors (ASHI), and the Environmental Standard Organization (IESO), host Stephen Showalter has performed over 8000 building inspections - including environmental assessments. Now, the founder of a national home inspection school and inspection training curriculum shares his extensive experience in the inspection industry with everyday viewers looking to learn more about the process of evaluating homes. Topics covered in this release include: evaluation of masonry walls; detection of spalling from rebar failure; inspection of air conditioning systems; grounds and landscaping; electric systems and panel; plumbing supply and distribution; plumbing fixtures; electric furnaces; appliances; evaluation of electric water heaters; and safety techniques. Jason Buchanan --Jason Buchanan, All Movie Review
Masonry Structures: Behavior and Design, Robert G. Drysdale, Ahmid A. Hamid, Lawrie R. Baker, The Masonry Society; 2nd edition (1999), ISBN-10: 1929081014, ISBN-13: 978-1929081011
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