Expert: Nazim Nice - 10/11/2011

Question
I have a house that was built in 2006 here in Dallas/Fort Worth. Recently, I noticed there's a gap between the frieze board and brick (I could see the top of the brick), and it's only half the part of the back of the house. There are NO stair step cracks anywhere on the exterior or interior part of the house, there are NO cracks of any kind, the doors and windows close without any problems. I know there has been the "normal" settlement or movement considering it was built new since 2006, but, I wonder if there is something that I should be worried about? Is this normal or is it BAD workmanship? What is the CORRECT method of fixing this issue? Should I replace the frieze board completely, or should I caulk the area, or place mortar around the area?

Answer
Hi Jamil,

Do you know for a fact that this gap was not there when the house was built? It is possible it is just poor workmanship and it was there all along. It's very difficult to say what caused this without looking at the house. If you have not noticed any other signs of settling then maybe it is okay and it has stopped moving. A consultation with a structural engineer and, if necessary, a geotechnical engineer might shed some light on the issue. What is the correct way of fixing this? If you are just aesthetically trying to cover up the issue, adding a piece of molding around the bottom of the frieze board could cover it up (you would add this around the entire house so it matches). I think I'd avoid mortar or caulk, which will just likely crack over time. But before covering it up, if you think there is a bigger problem, you should attempt to solve that first. You might want to monitor it for a period of time, like a year, to see if it is getting worse. You could take measurements at specific locations monthly and see if there is a difference.

Nazim Nice
Principal / Architect
http://www.motion-space.com
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