When your bricks develop cracks, you’ve got a problem. Cracked bricks are always a sign of pressure going in the wrong direction in your home. It could be water pushing in, the foundation shifting to the side, or moisture swelling from within. Whatever the problem, you need to know if repairing cracked bricks is possible, but with a pro team like Brick Experts, the answer is usually “Yes.”
Of course, if you want your Dallas-Fort Worth home or business brick wall to stay repaired, you’ll need to fix the source of the problem. Read on to learn what you need to know about repairing cracked bricks.
What Causes Cracked Bricks?
The first and most important thing to know is what caused your bricks to crack. When you see a crack running through your brick wall or chimney, the structural pressure has gone wrong, especially if you see a crack directly through the brick and not just along the mortar lines.
If you don’t fix the structural issue, your repaired bricks will crack again.
- Mortar Damage Over Time: All mortar needs to be repaired and touched up over the years, and ignoring mortar damage can result in your brick wall splitting at the mortar seams.
- Internal or External Pressure: For example, soil pushing into a basement wall or pushing out into a retaining wall.
- Leaks and Water Damage: Water swelling behind a brick wall or saturating the brick can be another source of cracks in the brick.
- Shifting Foundation: When the foundation shifts, it pulls your house in different directions. The ground is not on the same level as when the brick was built, which can cause cracks.
- Freezing and Thawing: Intense cold cycles are bad for brick walls. Water trapped inside the wall will expand when frozen and contract when thawed, which weakens the integrity of the brick.
- Heat and Moisture Expansion: The same is true in intense heat. When water expands into steam inside your brick, it damages your wall.
- Vines and Intrusive Plants: Plant roots and vines can push through anything given enough time.
Brick Crack Patterns: How to Know if Your Cracked Bricks Signal Foundation Issues
Knowing the types of brick cracks can help you identify how to fix them. The patterns in your cracked bricks can reveal the cause of the crack, how to prevent further cracking, and the repairs that will work best.
Horizontal Brick Cracks
Horizontal cracks along the mortar line can be a moisture issue. But if the crack is wider on one side, the foundation is likely settling on that side.
Vertical Brick Cracks
Vertical cracks can indicate foundation settling, concrete curing, or water expansion. If it’s wider at the bottom, the issue is the foundation. If it’s wider at the top, water expansion is more likely.
Stair-Step Brick Cracks
Stair-step cracks tend to follow the mortar line. The wider end of the stair-step will point toward the side of the settling foundation. When a stair-step crack appears near a door or window, it can pass through on either side of the frame in a line.
Professional Solutions for Damaged Bricks
What can the pros do to repair the cracks in your brick wall? Depending on the extent and type of damage, there may be several potential solutions.
Professional Brick Patching
Color-matching patches can be used to fix cracked bricks and make your wall look right again.
Silicone Sealant
Hairline cracks in your brick can be fixed quickly with a line of silicone sealant dispensed from a caulking tube. It can also be used as a flexible backer for larger cracks before they are patched.
Mortar & Grout
Mortar damage can be fixed by filling in the missing and damaged mortar with a fresh mix.
Replacement
For bricks that are too damaged or badly crumbled,
Contact the Masonry Pros in Dallas-Fort Worth
Do you have cracks in your brick wall? Just looking at the cracks can tell you a story about how they can be fixed. Brick Experts have the know-how to identify your problem and the skills to make your wall good as new. With the root cause repaired, your bricks will stay beautiful for many more years.
Contact us to consult on your cracked brick repairs today.
