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Step crack brick veneer


ductwork

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Had an inspection today, house was brick veneer, step crack 1/2 wide at points with no displacement, on the interior, no evidence of any cracking in the drywall or baseboards, I am not one to call out a structural engineer since this is brick veneer, no evidence on the corresponding interior location.

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tn_2015328182733_step%20crack%20over%203%208%20inch.jpg

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That void has widened/moved after it was (at least once) patched; pretty obvious from the picture. I would tell a client that if the wall continued to move - and only time will tell if it will - costs to stabilize the wall & perhaps the (moving?) foundation wall below could be significant.

Or, like Tom said, could just be an on-going expansion crack.

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The crack extends down to the crawl space entrance door, it is approximately 3 feet in length , the crack is not visible from within the crawlspace area, the safe way out would be to just recommend a structural engineer however I do not want to sound the alarms .

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When you're posting pictures like this, it would help if you would give us a distant shot and then a close up so we can better see the totality of the issue. Kind of like these where the brick expansion had pushed the corner CMU out of place.

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tn_201532821831_RIMG1783.jpg

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tn_201532821928_RIMG1764.jpg

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No I do not, I will advise the client to seek further evaluation .

The steel lentil on the opposite side has cracked/shifted, the lentil on the side with the crack has cracked

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tn_201532821541_20150328_193933.jpg

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There is no lintel there. That is the soffit, or a piece of wood trim, covered in aluminum coil. A lintel supports masonry over an opening.

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I think Tom is correct, assuming the wall is relatively long. Thermal expansion in long brick walls can cause cracks like that.

Here are a couple photos I took last month at a wall in a row of about 10 townhouses with no control joints.

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tn_2015328225848_P2198110%20(512x341).jpg

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tn_201532822598_P2198119%20(512x341).jpg

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No I do not, I will advise the client to seek further evaluation .

The steel lentil on the opposite side has cracked/shifted, the lentil on the side with the crack has cracked

Click to Enlarge
tn_201532821541_20150328_193933.jpg

21.75 KB

There is no lintel there. That is the soffit, or a piece of wood trim, covered in aluminum coil. A lintel supports masonry over an opening.

It was a steel lintel, it was not the soffit or a piece of wood trim covered in aluminum, I did feel the material and it was definitely steel .
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No I do not, I will advise the client to seek further evaluation .

The steel lentil on the opposite side has cracked/shifted, the lentil on the side with the crack has cracked

Click to Enlarge
tn_201532821541_20150328_193933.jpg

21.75 KB

There is no lintel there. That is the soffit, or a piece of wood trim, covered in aluminum coil. A lintel supports masonry over an opening.

It was a steel lintel, it was not the soffit or a piece of wood trim covered in aluminum, I did feel the material and it was definitely steel .

Sure looks like a soffit and a freeze board to me.

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The steel lentil on the opposite side has cracked/shifted, the lentil on the side with the crack has cracked

Lentil.jpg

Thank you for your helpful response, at least I asked and realized an issue and did not just ignore or tell the client to just throw some caulk or mortar in there, but I guess with your credentials , arrogance is expected and allowed.

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The steel lentil on the opposite side has cracked/shifted, the lentil on the side with the crack has cracked

Lentil.jpg

Thank you for your helpful response, at least I asked and realized an issue and did not just ignore or tell the client to just throw some caulk or mortar in there, but I guess with your credentials , arrogance is expected and allowed.

Arrogance? You don't know Bill K. He's got one of the most desirable combinations of knowledge and humility that I've ever seen.

Marc

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The steel lentil on the opposite side has cracked/shifted, the lentil on the side with the crack has cracked

Lentil.jpg

Thank you for your helpful response, at least I asked and realized an issue and did not just ignore or tell the client to just throw some caulk or mortar in there, but I guess with your credentials , arrogance is expected and allowed.

Arrogance? You don't know Bill K. He's got one of the most desirable combinations of knowledge and humility that I've ever seen.

Marc

I think he is just making a point about using the correct spelling for the steel supporting brick at openings as opposed to the similar sounding bean. Tends to make it more memorable... but I still get them confused.[:-dunce]

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The steel lentil on the opposite side has cracked/shifted, the lentil on the side with the crack has cracked

Lentil.jpg

Thank you for your helpful response, at least I asked and realized an issue and did not just ignore or tell the client to just throw some caulk or mortar in there, but I guess with your credentials , arrogance is expected and allowed.

Arrogance? You don't know Bill K. He's got one of the most desirable combinations of knowledge and humility that I've ever seen.

Marc

I think he is just making a point about using the correct spelling for the steel supporting brick at openings as opposed to the similar sounding bean. Tends to make it more memorable... but I still get them confused.[:-dunce]

Sure looks like a soffit and a freeze board to me.

Yeah, kinda like spelling frieze board "freeze board".

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I've appreciated folks correcting me when I use the wrong term or spelling, particularly when it's a term used in reports. Spell check won't correct lentil to lintel.

I'm fortunate that we pay people to type our reports. It gives me more time to focus on everyone else's writing.

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