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Photograph of - © Daniel Friedman 2007 1989 cracked  masonry block foundation wall, probably from earth pressur at original construction - notice the wavy mortar. Drop a plumb line to measure total inwards bulging of this block foundation wall. Thermal Expansion Cracks in Brick Walls & Foundations

Brick wall cracking due to thermal expansion:

We illustrate properly-designed control joints to prevent cracking in brick walls.

This article series describes ypes of concrete and other masonry wall & 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.

This information assists in recognizing foundation defects and helps separate cosmetic or low-risk conditions from those likely to be important, possibly quite dangerous, 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 Identify, Diagnose, & Evaluate Thermal Expansion Damage to Brick Walls

Photograph of thermal damage to a brick wallThis article describes extensive damage that can be caused to brick structures due to thermal expansion of long brick walls lacking expansion joints.

We list factors that determine the extent of thermal expansion damage to a brick wall or structure. Absence of control joints or expansion joints in long brick walls leads to extensive cracking damage, and we provide photographs of brick wall crack damage attributible to thermal expansion

We describe how to recognize, diagnose, & evaluate thermal expansion cracks in brick walls &: brick foundations and how to distinguish between this type of cracking failures and other cracks and movement in masonry foundations or walls, such as concrete, masonry block, brick, stone foundation damage due to impact, settlement, frost or water damage, and other causes.

Thermal expansion failures in structural or veneer brick walls:

is a topic misunderstood by many builders, masons, engineers, architects, and inspectors.

As Dave Wickersheimer, R.A. P.E. and masonry failure expert has pointed out, brick "grows" in size indefinitely [though probably most of its size increase is early after it's manufacture.]

But a separate factor that can cause very large movements and extensive damage to brick structures or brick veneer walls is the thermal expansion which occurs across a long or tall brick wall when that wall is heated by sun exposure.

The photographs here show significant thermal expansion damage in a long brick structure - the Poughkeepsie NY Jewish Community Center) when we first photographed it in 1989. We visited this site again for an update in June 2007.

This brick veneer wall was built over a concrete block building.

The brick veneer was attached using normal steel strap methods and the brick veneer was also reinforced at intervals using a horizontal steel wire. But the wall, more than 100' long, was built without a single expansion joint.

Photograph of thermal expansion damage to a brick wall

As the south-facing wall of this building heated in summer sun the wall grew in length until it pushed out the East and West building corners at their tops for a total of nearly 3" measured by dropping a plumb line from each building corner.

The veneer movement produced a variety of damage, including:

Photograph of thermal expansion damage to a brick wall Photograph of a collapsed brick strudctural wall Photograph of thermal expansion damage to a brick wall Photograph of thermal expansion damage to a brick wall

We were surprised that there was not more extensive damage to the structural walls themselves, and we urged the building management to consult an experienced mason for further inspection and repair. We expected the mason to cut vertical expansion joints in the wall and to seal these joints with an appropriate flexible filler material or gasket.

Photograph of thermal expansion damage to a brick wall

No repairs were made, the cracks had grown slightly, and leaks had increased at the time of an informal site inspection and visit we made again in June 2007, as shown in the photographs below.

Photograph of thermal expansion damage to a brick wall

Factors which determine the extent of thermal expansion damage to a brick wall or structure

Control joint in a brick wall, James McGowan Kingston NY © Daniel Friedman at InspectApedia.com Control joint in a brick wall, James McGowan Kingston NY © Daniel Friedman at InspectApedia.com

Above: an open a control joint built into a brick wall of a building in Kingston, NY. It's no surprise that this wall had a good control joint in the brick wall: note that the sign indicates that this building houses James McGowan and sons, a Kingston masonry company.

Below: sealed control joints in a brick veneer at the Van Scriver Elementary School in Haddonfield New Jersey. These control joints are placed at intervals of 25 stretcher brick courses - green arrows.

Control joints in a brick veneer at the Van Scriver Elementary School in Haddonfield New Jersey © Daniel Friedman at InspectApedia.com

Below, a closer look at the sealed control joints at the control joints in a brick veneer at the Van Scriver Elementary School in Haddonfield New Jersey.

Control joints in a brick veneer at the Van Scriver Elementary School in Haddonfield New Jersey © Daniel Friedman at InspectApedia.com

 




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Reader Comments, Questions & Answers About The Article Above

Below you will find questions and answers previously posted on this page at its page bottom reader comment box.

Reader Q&A - also see RECOMMENDED ARTICLES & FAQs

On 2020-07-21 by Daniel

If you are looking for a reliable and experienced masonry contractor in Boston head over to AMN masonry, they offer wide range of services including, brick and stone repointing, concrete repair, and historic building restoration services as well.

On 2019-08-05 - by (mod) -

If you can cut the old sealant sides sufficient to pry it out of the expansion joint using a simple utility knife or in combination with a putty knife that would be a start but I wouldn't remove it until you're ready to install the new sealant.

It's also important that the expansion joint surfaces be clean and dry

On 2019-08-05 - by (mod) -

Thanks for the added detail for the question. Since the expansion joint goes all the way through the brick a baccarat it's not a bad idea.

I need to do some research to make some specific suggestions on expansion joint sealant products used by most Masons. Because the joint is or maybe rather wide it may exceed the tolerable width across which conventional sealants such as silicone or polyurethane generic sealants are designed.

On 2019-08-04 by Sam

I have only one joint. Attached is a pic taken today. Left side of the expansion joint does not get much sun as its shaded by another house. The house is about 20 years old, I am not sure what material the builder used for the joint.

Any specific sealant you would recommend to replace the current material?

Can i remove the current material with a utility knife and do I need to use a backer rod for this?

Thanks,
Sam

On 2019-08-03 - by (mod) -

Cracks at the control joint in a brick wall (C) InspectApedia.com SamSam,

If we are sure that there are a sufficient number of brick wall control joints or "expansion joints" in your building construction

then I suspect that the expansion joint filler has lost its flexibility.

It would be helpful to know the age of the building and just what material is used in the expansion joint.

Any case the repair may require that the present material is removed and is replaced with a new flexible masonry sealant

See SEAL CRACKS in CONCRETE, HOW TO for some examples of suitable products.

On 2019-08-02 by Sam - crack at brick wall control joint - Dallas TX building

Hi,

I am seeing cracks in the expansion joint (attached photo shown above was taken in Spring), and this crack increases in size (i.e. space between bricks on either side of the joint increases) in summer and reduces in winter.

I live in Dallas, TX. The brick wall faces south west and I suspect the the direct exposure to sun (hot summer) is causing this. Any suggestions on how to mitigate this from happening in summer?

On 2019-04-05 - by (mod) -

Brent the roughly diagonal step cracking pattern, while it could be thermal expansion, probably is NOT in this this case due to heating/cooling.

Take a look at the slight drop in elevation of that last two bricks atop the wall, the fact that the step cracks are much wider near the top of the wall than at the bottom., and the location of the cracking near a corner.

There is also a bit of settlement.

You don't give the country, city location of the wall but the background looks like a hot dry climate like Tucson or Lake Surprise.

Even so there is occasional rain - note the white effloresence on the bricks - or less likely water from an irrigation system (not recommended in AZ).

Settlement can occur even in a dry climate after rain wets and compacts poorly-compacted soil or settles an inadequately prepared footing.

To me this looks like settlement.

On 2019-04-05 by (mod) - Step cracks in Arizona building

Brent the roughly diagonal step cracking pattern, while it could be thermal expansion, probably is NOT in this this case due to heating/cooling.

Take a look at the slight drop in elevation of that last two bricks atop the wall, the fact that the step cracks are much wider near the top of the wall than at the bottom., and the location of the cracking near a corner.

There is also a bit of settlement.

You don't give the country, city location of the wall but the background looks like a hot dry climate like Tucson or Lake Surprise.

Even so there is occasional rain - note the white effloresence on the bricks - or less likely water from an irrigation system (not recommended in AZ).

Settlement can occur even in a dry climate after rain wets and compacts poorly-compacted soil or settles an inadequately prepared footing.

To me this looks like settlement.

On 2019-04-05 by Brent - stair-like separation of the bricks three to five feet from the corner

At the corner or a patio with a brick half-wall that stretches 25 feet long by 4 feet high hitting a right angle where it mates with a the back half-wall of the patio edge (which runs the same length and width), there is a stair-like separation of the bricks three to five feet from the corner, showing starkly on the outside of the brick wall, and easily seen on the inside of the brick wall too.

On the inside, naturally, the bricks are pushing outward an inch at the separation joint.

And, this is Arizona, and the sun beats on that area a good 6-8 hours a day; half of the year 80-100 degrees. So, sure, one might think "Thermal Expansion."

However, complicating a diagnosis is the installation of a fountain at that same corner. So, we wonder if the weight of that fountain added to water erosion from watering the plants might have caused this problem.

I am adding images of the outside and the interior corner. Kind of a puzzler, as we are not sure how to approach this.

That is, we would hate to tear away the corner fountain and corner base, and corner wall all to excavate it unnecessarily.

We would love to just fix the bricks and install an expansion joint if that would do all that is necessary. We had a contractor look at it, but...he wants to rip it all apart. So, again, let us know what you think.

IMAGE LOST by older version of Clark Van Oyen’s Comments Box code - now fixed. Please re-post the image if you can. Sorry. Mod.

On 2019-01-13 by Anonymous

You need an onsite expert, and there could be a collapse risk.

On 2019-01-12 by NR Swain

Sir our home is 2 years old but many cracks found in wall and roof. It sounds a cracking sound every 20 minutes interval. Plz help .. contact no is +917205734043


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