Cracking Brick

[tridennisr]

Hello,
I am concerned about some cracking of my 10 year old, 2 story house. I was considering filling the cracks with caulking to keep moisture out, but am starting to wonder if I should have a bricklayer repair it. The crack starts at the 2cd floor window and goes al the way down. It is basicallyright in the center of the wall, not near any corners.

Would filling the cracks with caulking be the right course to take? Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Dennis

[kactuskid]

This looks like a brick veneer wall and since the bricks are cracked completly through and not just in the mortar joints this indicates you have some serious movement going on. It's impossbile to know the cause from here but, I'd really suggest hiring a structual engineer to evaluate the problem for you so you can know the cause. You'll get a written report telling you the reason and the corrective action required. Just caulking it closed isn't gonna fix it, you need to know the reason so you can cure that first. May cost you a few hundered dollars but can save you thousands if you've got some heavy settling going on. Could also be from not having a properly installed veneer wall and there's no drainage plane, but that's why you need the engineer to tell you what's happening.

You don't say what state you're in???? I'd suggest calling a local home inspection company, one that is ASHI certified. Ask them for a reference for a good structual engineer. Don't wait on this and let us know what they find. Good luck to you.

[tridennisr]

Thank you for your advice. The house is located in South West Missouri. I have only lived there for 13 months. This didn't come up during the home inspection, so it's possible this movement has just happened in the last year.

I will get on the phone today and see if I can find an inspector.

Thanks again,
Dennis

[kactuskid]

Since home inspectors aren't required to be licensed in Missouri, you need to make sure you contact one that has the knowledge to give you a good reference. Most ASHI certified inspectors fit this bill. In case you need it, below is a link that has an ASHI ceritified inspector on it that's located in the SW portion of your state. Hope this helps

http://www.cnyashi.com/chapters.html