Building Homes or Extensions/BRICK VENEER CRACKS

Advertisement

Expert: - 9/20/2010


Question
Hi Bruce, we have added a new patio roof 16x30 over concrete floor two years ago.  It's shingle roof and connected to our existing house roof, a single family house.  We have 4 4x6" posts and 16 2x6" rafters connected to the existing roof. We are seeing vertical stress cracks on the brick veneer walls outside the house and also horizontal cracks on the drywall by the closet doors in all the bedrooms.  After we built the patio roof in March, we had the hurricane IKE in September 08. Do you think the roof is too heavy leaning on the house and what can we do to fix the problem?

Answer

knee brace
Hi CJ, I doubt if the roof load is the problem.  I would venture a guess that the patio structure is catching some wind and shifting slightly.  This external movement will cause the walls to move and the cracks to occur.  You might be able to add some knee bracing at the outside posts to beams to keep the porch roof from racking under wind pressure.  The hurricane may have caused the new roof structure to loosen slightly so that now you have movement.  Any movement, no matter how slight may be enough to cause cracking.  This may be a chronic problem that won't go away but not get any worse.  If that is the case then you can use a flexible grout caulk on the brick veneer and fiberglass mesh tape on the drywall seams inside.  This will allow the minimal movement to take place without re cracking.  I am attaching a simple knee brace sketch to illustrate. The knee bracing doesn't necessarily have to come down as far as show in my drawing. I hope this information helps, please feel free to write again regarding this or other matters, sincerely bruce e johnson..bejohnsonconsulting.com
    Questioner's Rating
    Rating(1-10)Knowledgeability = 10Clarity of Response = 10Politeness = 10
    CommentThank you very much! We appreciate your valuable advice!


  • Add to this Answer
  • Ask a Question

Bruce E. Johnson

Expertise

I can answer any construction related question in regards to carpentry, concrete, drywall, masonry, structural elements of any type of building, residential or commercial. Interior or exterior.

Experience

Custom Commercial and residential buildings. Churches, theaters, schools and auditoriums. Most recently I am working with the Catholic Church on several design build committees. I have a website related to scheduling and project supervision. Although my expertise is more related to multimillion dollar commercial, educational and theatrical projects my generous credentials in residential and remodelling construction make me a viable source of information regarding all forms of building questions.

©2012 About.com, a part of The New York Times Company. All rights reserved.