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Diagnosing Issues of Brick Masonry Walls

March 13, 2015

By Erin Collins-Cecil

Brick is a durable material for masonry walls that, if constructed properly and maintained, can last as long as the lifespan of the building.  However, poor construction practices can lead to  defects in the form of cracking, efflorescence and spalling, and defects can happen to both old and new construction.  Fortunately, visual assessments of brick walls can provide valuable preliminary information regarding the integrity of the masonry and the structure behind it. This paper will discuss the characteristics of brick, typical defect patterns, and their causes.

1. Characteristics of Brick

Brick, as a material, expands naturally over the course of time.  Taken directly from the kiln and placed in a controlled environment without fluctuations in moisture and temperature, test bricks were found to expand the most during the first month of installation, followed by a consistent rate of approximately .0006% per year after five years (Ref. 5).  In addition, brick expands and contracts with changes in thermal temperatures and moisture.  The following items will greatly influence the amount of dimensional change that a brick, and the brick wall assembly, will experience over its useful service life:

  • The type of clay used for the brick. Manufacturers should be able to provide the coefficient of expansion for their products.
  • The location of the brick wall. Orientation and exposure of brick walls in relation to cardinal directions will affect the amount of sunlight (heat) that will be absorbed by the wall.  Walls exposed to the outdoors have a greater chance of thermal expansion and contraction, and retainage of moisture, than walls located indoors or in protected areas.
  • Moisture retainage. Brick walls are porous, and will absorb moisture through both the bricks and the mortar joints.  Unlike thermal expansion and contraction, dimensional changes in brick due to moisture are irreversible.

Brick walls are relatively rigid in comparison to the overall building which moves due to a number of factors. Dimensional changes to walls due to the clay materials used, thermal variations, moisture retainage, and the ability for the wall to move with or independently from the structure, requires careful design and installation. Expansion and control joints, separation joints between dissimilar materials, and special anchoring systems provide mechanisms to prevent brick wall defects due to expansion, contraction, and minor building movement.  Additionally, masonry walls should include a system of drainage space, flashing, and weep drains to direct water that penetrates through the face of the brick to the exterior.

2. Defect Patterns

2.1 Cracking

There are different cracking patterns that can occur in brick walls.  The age of the building and its construction type, such as being a cavity or mass masonry wall, wood frame, concrete frame, or steel frame structure, will aid in the diagnosis of causes for the brick cracks.  The list below describes several common cracking patterns and the causes of the cracks:

  •  Vertical Cracking at Inside Building Corners: Vertical cracks at inside corners often result from thermal expansion of the adjoining walls towards each other. This type of cracking typically indicates that expansion provisions were not provided during construction of the building.
  • Vertical Cracking at Outside Building Corners and Horizontal Cracking at Floor Lines: Typical to older mass masonry construction, vertical cracks at outside corners are indicative of structural movement.  In older construction, steel columns located on the corners of buildings were often encased in brick.  Water that migrates through the brick accesses the steel, which then begins to oxidize (rust).  The pressure exerted by the steel is referred to as oxidized jacking. The pressures can reach levels capable of pushing the masonry away from the building, causing vertical cracking of the brick.   This phenomenon can also occur horizontally along floor lines, when oxidized jacking of steel spandrel beams pushes brick out of plane.
Brick, cracking, defect, brick defect, issue, brick issue, failure, brick failure

(Left Photo) Brick previously replaced along the corner of this building had a new vertical crack form. (Right Photo) Oxidized jacking from the steel column encased in masonry at the corner forced the brick to move away from the structure

In newer, cavity wall construction, vertical cracking at outside building corners may indicate a lack of installed expansion joints.  As with vertical cracking at inside corners, the two intersecting walls will expand and contract at different rates, causing rotation of the brick and eventual cracking.  Studies have found that, for walls without the installation of control joints, a minimal brick expansion of 2mm to 4mm caused vertical cracking at building corners (Ref. 5).

  • Vertical Cracking above Window Heads: Deflection caused by an undersized lintel can cause the masonry to deflect at the center of a window opening and develop a vertical crack.  The cracks will likely be tapered with the crack wider at the lintel, but decreasing in width as the crack travels upward away from the window.
  • Diagonal Cracking and Cracking in the Field of the Brick Wall: Uneven settlement of the building foundations can cause diagonal cracking (sometimes referred to as step cracks due to the crack following the path of mortar joints horizontally and vertically) at fenestration (windows and doors), and in the field of the brick wall.
Brick, cracking, defect, brick defect, issue, brick issue, failure, brick failure

Step cracking of brick due to uneven building settlement. 

  • Cracking at concrete foundations:  Concrete and brick masonry expand and contract at different rates. If separation provisions such as a bond break or flashing are not installed between the concrete and brick, cracks occurring in the concrete foundation may continue through the brick or cracks may occur at the juncture of the brick and concrete.

2.2 Efflorescence:

Efflorescence is the formation of a white crystalline substance on the face of brick. This is caused by an excessive amount of moisture within the wall leaching through and out of the masonry. As water passes through the mortar joints, salts are collected and transported to the face of the brick where it then crystallizes.  Efflorescence may often occur in brick of newly constructed buildings. Efflorescence in this type of condition can often be easily removed by scrubbing the effected areas with water.  However, efflorescence that occurs well after construction was completed generally indicates that a large amount of moisture has penetrated behind the brick and is unable to effectively drain back to the exterior. This results from many factors which may include weep drains becoming clogged or brick cavity walls being occluded with mortar droppings. Both of these conditions hinder or limit the ability for moisture to drain to the exterior.

Efflorescence, brick, defects, brick defects, issues, brick issues

 Efflorescence indicative of improper moisture management behind brick. 

 2.3  Spalling:

Spalling is when portions of the brick flake off from the main body of the brick. Sometimes the spalled pieces can be very large portions of the original brick. There are several reasons that brick spalling may occur.  Spalling may be caused by installation of brick coatings intended to not allow the brick to “breath” (moisture in the form of vapor not allowed to transmit through the brick to the exterior). When this occurs and is compounded by a lack of drainage provisions, moisture trapped behind the exterior surface of the brick will freeze and exert pressures in the brick material sufficient to break a portion away from the rest of the brick (spall).  Spalling can also be due to the brick materials being made from soft clay material which will readily absorb moisture that may freeze within the brick, resulting in spalling.  A third reason for spalling could be due to movement of the structure. The movement may exert sufficient pressures onto individual brick that breaks the brick apart. This latter phenomenon has its most common occurrence at structural lintels in buildings.

3. Conclusion

Visual evaluation of brick masonry walls for cracking patterns, efflorescence, and spalling can provide useful information regarding the structure and the installation of the brick wall. Seeing these types of issues can give the observer good insight into how the structure and the brick are performing. A visual evaluation will also determine if further testing is necessary.

Cracking patterns indicative of building movement require determination of the cause to define if the building is still moving or is stationary.  A simple way to determine if building movement is still occurring can be done by installing plaster over the crack. If the crack re-occurs through the plaster, building movement is still occurring and should be investigated for the cause of the movement. Another way to examine cracks is through use of electronic or manual crack meters. Crack meters will accurately measure the amount of change in crack width over a prolonged period of time.  Invasive testing, involving removal of brick to uncover the underlying structure, may need to be performed to determine if the underlying structure is sound.

Berman & Wright has observed, documented, and diagnosed brick masonry wall issues in old and new construction.  Often it was found that improper construction of expansion joints, structural movement occurrences, and the lack of water drainage were causes of the issues. A combination of visual evaluations, installation of crack meters, and invasive testing allowed us to determine the exact causes of the issues and their affect on adjacent building elements.

Further information regarding brick masonry wall issues and recommendations for proper construction can be found on the The Brick Industry Association website www.gobrick.com.  In addition, the International Building Code references the ACI 530/ASCE 5/TMS 402 Building Code Requirements for Masonry Structures.  Both sources should be consulted prior to the design and construction of brick walls to ensure that the walls will retain their integrity for the lifespan of the building.

 

References:

  1. Almherigh, Mohamed Abdalla. (2014).  Common Causes of Cracking in Masonry Walls Diagnosis and       Remedy.  International Journal of Sciences:  Basic and Applied Research. (Volume 14), pp. 25-33.
  2. Suprenant, Bruce A. “Evaluating Cracks” Masonry Construction:  N.p., 1990. Web.  05 Mar  2015.
  1. “Technical Notes on Brick Construction 18: Volume Changes – Analysis and Effects of Movement.”  The Brick Industry Association Home.  The Brick Industry Association, Oct.  2006.
  2. “Technical Notes on Brick Construction 18A: Accommodating Expansion of Brickwork.”  The Brick Industry Association Home.  The Brick Industry Association, Nov.  2006.
  3. Taylor, Peter J. The Expansion of Clay Brickwork Taylor Lauder Bersten Pty Ltd.  March, 2009.

6 Responses to “Diagnosing Issues of Brick Masonry Walls”

  1. Belinda Boulton says:

    I’ve looked here because I have vertical cracks in 3, perhaps 4 corners of my 17 yr old cavity wall house, brick elevation, blocks inside. Sandy grit falls out of one of them, so it isn’t just plaster, I’m thinking. They extend up to the first floor ( that’s all there is) Some have pulled the adjacent coving apart mid section (rather than at joints). We had occasion to remove some of this coving when boxing in a run of newly installed piping, and could see a crack from the corner along the ceiling wall junction to the point where the coving snapped, perhaps 5 ft along! Also there are some vertical plaster cracks where wiring conduits travel straight up from sockets positioned near the corners.
    Although one crack was present in 2008 when we bought the house, things have progressed since then. I am surprised this continues rather than just occurring initially as the blocks dried out. I read that blocks are often used before they have ‘matured’ and vertical cracks happen whether they are used with brick either side, e.g. in attached garages where the hidden wall is block work

    There is no sign of any cracking on the outside of the house.

    So if this is due to expansion and contraction, is it serious, and does anything need to be done?

    Thank you

  2. chris melody says:

    I need help. Severe spalling of bricks on my patio. Suspect we received bad bricks and not a craftsmanship issue. How can I prove that it was the brick and not the mortar?

  3. Nagendran says:

    There is cracker both inside and out side on the same wall and similar crack was found straight opposite wall of the room.

  4. Nicola says:

    I need help. My house is only 7 months old and cracks are showing on the walls from ceiling to window frames. The bricks are filled up with concrete and I’m not sure why they crack

  5. colleen says:

    The brick veneer on my 37 year slab on grade single storey house now has cracks, almost exclusively horizontal, continuous for very long runs in the horizontal only joint, running the entire brick perimeter.

    I pointed these cracks out to the insurance adjuster, but he blew me off saying they were settlement cracks…although they were not there before the hurricane.

    I have googled brick cracking issues, and such horizontal cracks are not discussed.

    Masons and home builders native to the area say this was caused by the hurricane…sustained winds over 120mph. Their explanation is that the house (walls and roof) ‘puffs’, and that horizontal joint was the weak spot…therefore it cracked.

    Arguments, examples…anything to help me with the insurance company….. would be greatly appreciated.

    Thanks

  6. fe says:

    Colleen I need help with my insurance co too…
    Did you get help?


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