Crack in facing brick, what to do. Why do facing bricks crack? Causes of cracks

There are a huge number of reasons leading to the appearance of cracks in brick houses. This is both unexpected seismic activity and mechanical damage, and mistakes made during construction. For example, cracks can occur due to incorrect tying of brickwork load-bearing walls Houses. What to do if there is a crack in the wall brick house has it already appeared? In any case, the house will need both superficial, cosmetic and thorough repairs to eliminate the causes of damage if they appeared due to violations of construction technology. If you do not strengthen the base and walls of the house in time, then one small gap can cause distortion load-bearing structure and irreversible deformation of the house.

Causes of wall damage

There are several main reasons why a gap may appear in the wall:

1. Regular natural settlement of the house for more than 1-2 years ( great importance has a choice of foundations permissible for construction on a specific type of soil) and natural shifts.
2. Subsidence and further cracking of the foundation due to regular erosion groundwater or bad distributed load, giving a skew by one point.
3. Freezing of the foundation and further destruction after another change in temperature.
4. Heavy load on brickwork. Under such circumstances, cracks appear not only on the walls, but also on the pillars. Feature cracks that appeared due to excessive pressure - vertical direction and closedness.
5. Violation of pouring technology at the stage of constructing the foundation of a house, low-quality materials and their incomplete drying.

Strengthening the foundation

Serious problems with structural integrity require a total rebuild of the foundation:

• The first step is to make a deep trench along the wall with a crack to the level of the base horizon. The width of the trench should not be greater than the thickness of the foundation base.
• After this, the crack needs to be widened a little, cleaned of weakly reinforced stones and the cement that adheres them.
• The expanded and cleaned area is drilled for reinforcement horizontally and vertically. It is necessary to intertwine reinforcing bars of suitable size with anchors and secure them by welding. The distance between the rods depends on how wide the crack needs to be repaired. This reinforcement is made as a further connection with the skeleton of the new reinforcing foundation.
• Now you can make formwork and pour concrete into it. To prevent new cracks, all work on the base is carried out only after it has dried.. You can also spray it with water occasionally to help it cure evenly.

The solution will take a very long time to dry - at least a month, only after this time can the site be compacted and a blind area made.

These measures will stop the destruction of the walls and only after they have been carried out can we begin to directly eliminate the defects.

Elimination of defects

After strengthening the foundation, cosmetic repair of cracks in brick walls . In order to make sure that new cracks are no longer expected, it is worth sticking pieces of paper in places of damage and monitoring their integrity. If the paper does not tear, you can begin their restoration.

Small, shallow cracks can be repaired with cement mortar, after first cleaning their edges and knocking off unstable pieces of material and adhesive mortar with a hammer. To make the adhesion to the new solution stronger, it is worth moistening the edges of the crack with water.. Middle cracks must be sealed with a mixture of sand and cement (ratio 3:1).

Repairing large cracks

In order to eliminate large (more than 1-2 centimeters wide) connectors, you need to do much more operations, which are discussed in more detail below.

First you need to completely disassemble the entire area with the crack, starting from the top rows. All unstable and crumbling bricks must be replaced with new ones. When laying new brickwork, they need to be additionally reinforced. If a rupture occurs in a brick wall unit, reinforcement can be done using a strip steel plate, bending its ends to the sides of the masonry and securing it with bolts.

If it is not possible to dismantle the wall, sealing cracks in brick walls is done by throwing crushed stone into large crevices with cement mortar and strengthening metal strip, fixed with anchors.

If the cracks that appear threaten the integrity of the building, it is necessary to thoroughly strengthen the wall. Along the perimeter of the house, rods made of steel are installed with external and inside. The result is a kind of powerful steel belt covering the entire building.

If the crack is too deep, you can also use the cement injection method: for this, inch holes are drilled along the entire length of the crack at a distance of 15-20 cm from each other. A tube filled with cement mortar is placed inside the hole, and using a sealant or a special construction syringe, the solution is injected into the crack, filling it with itself.

In addition, some developers use polyurethane foam to fill large cracks.. To do this, it is blown deep into the crack, dries and is fixed on the outside with cement.

Sometimes the cracks and breaks are so catastrophic that the wall cracks right through. In such cases, it is also necessary to strengthen the wall from the inside. To do this, you need to deeply moisten the gap, fill the resulting gap with cement and crushed stone and install metal overlays secured with anchors. After the solution has dried, you can begin finishing the inside of the cracked wall.

So, repairing cracks in brick walls is important and challenging task, requiring large physical and material costs. However, if such defects are not repaired in time, the house will soon simply become warped or deformed irrevocably.

Submitting to the latter design trends, most owners of private houses and cottages with external design buildings opt for brickwork. This coating provides buildings with a beautiful appearance, and also serves as a protective, decorative and facing material. According to its strength characteristics facing brick surpasses many finishing options, so in our country it is especially in demand even with the high cost of material and installation work. However, to maintain wear resistance, the coating needs to be maintained to avoid such phenomena as cracks in the facing brick.

Causes of cracks in facing masonry

Even with strict adherence house construction rules there is a possibility of unpleasant situations in the form of shrinkage and thermal deformation of coatings. They are also the main causes of cracks in brick facing surfaces. Deformation can lead to various phenomena:

• to shrinkage due to exposure to moisture, which causes a decrease in volume, compaction and hardening of the facing coating;
• to change linear dimensions during thermal compression and expansion.

The shrinkage process is natural and usually occurs over several years. But temperature deformation is mainly influenced by the change of season, daily temperature fluctuations, and the position of the lined walls in relation to the cardinal points. Note that the front surfaces of walls located on the sunny side of the house are more susceptible to linear extensions. These phenomena can be prevented by following a few simple rules.

How to prevent cracks from forming in brick cladding: 7 tips from professionals

Considering the likelihood of linear shrinkage of bricks and periodic temperature fluctuations, the formation of cracks in the cladding of a building can be prevented by adhering to the following rules:

1. Dry the facing products as much as possible before laying them on the main surface.
2. Strictly follow the masonry methodology, based on the arrangement of so-called bonded rows. The method involves laying bonded rows of solid elements in places such as the upper and lower rows of the structure being built, in belts and cornices, under beams, purlins and load-bearing slabs, as well as every four spoon rows. In addition, the facing masonry must be tied with anchors and unloading belts must be used.
3. In progress facing masonry use reinforcement steel mesh with a diameter of 2-3 mm. Such a mesh will reduce the deformation load on facing surface, thereby contributing to the long-term preservation of its integrity.
4. Equip expansion joints along the entire masonry surface, which in the cladding will simultaneously perform the functions of both shrinkage and expansion joints. Their thickness should not exceed 15 mm.
5. Avoid getting moisture on the facing brick during its transportation, handling and installation.
6. Avoid freezing and thawing of the building walls.
7. Carry out facing masonry using the most rigid mortar, plasticizers and non-shrinking additives to avoid wetting of the products and to prevent the appearance of cracks during the drying of the facing surface.

Although cracks in the facing brick coating do not affect load-bearing capacity masonry, they still spoil it appearance.

How to extend the service life of facing bricks

To extend service life brick cladding your home and identify possible cracks in time, the first thing you need to do is inspect the facing coating in order to identify and further eliminate defects. At this stage, not only the outer walls of the building, but also the masonry joints are carefully checked. All chips and cracks in the facing brick are sealed using a special sealant, which is selected for color shade main material. For seams, as a rule, solutions similar to those used in the production of masonry are used - this way the restored sections of the facing masonry will not stand out from the overall architectural composition.

The next stage involves cleaning the brickwork from dirt and dust, while experts do not recommend using wet method. It is better to wipe the surface with a soft, dry cloth, thereby preventing moisture from entering the brickwork.

To ensure optimal protection of facing brickwork on finishing stage it is recommended to apply additional protective layer– this can be a special varnish, water repellents or clinker oil. These types of coatings will well protect the cladding of your home from negative impact factors for a long time. Even after they become unusable, varnish and paint compounds are much easier to remove and cheaper to reapply than to restore the brickwork itself. At the same time, the well-groomed appearance of the building will continue to delight the eyes of its owner.

First of all, it is necessary to understand the nature and type of defects that cause destruction of the finishing layer.

The most common defect is cracks. However, shooting is an equally serious problem. They can be caused either by a violation of construction technology or by the poor quality of the material itself.

Shootings and ways to deal with them

Shots (“dutikki”) are small craters and dips on the surface of a brick, in the center of which there are often small granules of quicklime. They are mistakenly called chips, but this is the wrong term, since the chip is of mechanical origin, and shootings appear as a result of poor-quality grinding of raw materials.

The process of making bricks involves grinding the clay mass. Often it contains particles of lime, which, if ground poorly, end up in finished product. If water gets in from the solution, precipitation or when thawing after frost quicklime reacts with it, and the carbon dioxide released in the process causes shooting of the material. This leads to the surface losing its attractive appearance. A large number of such granules in the structure can cause destruction of the entire facing layer. Usually shootings appear after the first winter.

There are several ways to solve this problem:

• treatment with hydrophobic materials;
• repair by filling defects;
• varnish coating;
• laying the facing layer from scratch.

Since the reason for the shooting is the low quality of the material, when choosing a facing brick it is necessary to carefully inspect it for the presence of lumps of lime, and also read the documents confirming that the products comply with GOST 530-2012.

Cracks

In the vast majority of cases, the formation of cracks in facing bricks indicates a violation of technology construction work. Usually their appearance is caused by deformation of the base of the house when the foundation is subjected to loads exceeding permissible values.

In general, there are quite a few reasons for the formation of cracks, so they need to be clarified based on a specific case. For example, one of them may be a gasket engineering communications by digging a trench under the base of an already erected structure. This leads to sagging of part of the foundation and a decrease in its strength, and the resulting in this case deflection can cause destructive stresses in the wall.

Cracks in facing bricks: causes of formation

The appearance of thin, so-called thread-like or hairline cracks on facing bricks is most likely caused by uneven natural shrinkage of the house. There is no reason for serious worries, but it’s worth playing it safe - installing beacons and starting to monitor progress. If they are missing, then the defects can be painted over, repaired and forgotten about.

In the case when the opening of cracks increases, the reason for this most likely lies in the foundation, and when it is being constructed without preliminary design calculations, there is no point in doubting this.

The main mistakes during construction that lead to the formation of cracks in facing bricks are:

• incorrect choice of foundation type;
• insufficient width and shallow depth foundation bookmarks;
• poor quality or untimely implementation of foundation waterproofing;
• insufficient compaction or absence of a sand cushion under the foundation;
• absence deep drainage during the construction of houses with basement floors;
• arrangement basement without appropriate reinforcing structures;
• improper installation or absence of a storm drainage system.

To get rid of cracks on the surface of facing bricks, it is first necessary to eliminate the cause of their formation. Only after this can you proceed directly to eliminating the gaps.

Methods for eliminating cracks

In practice, facing bricks most often crack above and below doorways and windows, as well as in the corners of houses. However, regardless of where the cracks are located, their opening should be measured before repair measures. Used for repairs cement-sand mortar, mixed in a 1:2 ratio, and polyurethane foam. Its technology directly depends on the size of the defect:

• 1-5 mm - the edges of the crack are carefully knocked down with a hammer or slightly trimmed with a grinder equipped with a concrete disc. Using a spatula, the gap is cleaned of sand particles and dust, and then moistened, for example, with a household spray. After this, carefully fill the gap with the solution as deep as possible.
• 5-12 mm - also knock down and trim the edges of the crack, remove debris and dust, slightly moisten the cavity with water and fill it polyurethane foam. After hardening, the protruding areas of the foam are removed and the gap is carefully sealed with a solution.
• 12 mm or more - provided that the causes of their formation are eliminated, repairs similar to those described are performed, and then additional tightening elements are installed, which can be made independently. Before their installation, grooves are prepared, corresponding in depth and width to the thickness and width of the steel strip, and holes are made along its edges for subsequent fastening of the element to the wall with anchor bolts. After installing the tension plates, the grooves and cracks are filled with mortar and the wall is leveled.

In order to effectively eliminate cracks in facing bricks and prevent the formation of new defects, it is necessary to determine the causes of this phenomenon as accurately as possible. As a warning and preventive measures It is recommended not to skimp on design and technical documentation, and also to eliminate even minor errors that may affect the reliability and strength of building structures.

A crack may appear on the wall of a house at any moment, and the owners of the building immediately wonder how dangerous this phenomenon is. Experts distinguish between two types of cracks – passive and active. And if in the first case the defect in question can be “removed” with your own hands, then in the second case you will have to involve professionals in the work. But first you need to understand what factors provoke the appearance of cracks.

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Causes of cracks in the house

It is believed that in the first five years after the construction of a house, cracks appear on the walls in 90% of cases - experts call this natural shrinkage, which does not pose any danger. But it also happens that the house is many years old, it is quite lived-in, all structures are regularly repaired, but cracks still appear. What is the reason for this phenomenon?

Firstly, cracks in the house may appear due to violations in the technology of constructing the walls themselves. For example, if the dressing of brickwork was carried out incorrectly.

Secondly, the phenomenon in question on the walls of a house may be caused by non-compliance with the sequence of construction work. For example, communication systems (water supply, sewerage) are often installed after the house has been built - the foundation has to be excavated, which negatively affects its quality characteristics.

Thirdly, settlement of the foundation often occurs - for example, due to compression of the foundation soils or too much high pressure houses on the foundation. This is possible if the construction of the foundation was carried out without preliminary calculations and design. The most common mistakes:

• During the construction of the foundation, geodetic surveys were not carried out, the nature of the soil was not studied;
• the ground resistance taken as a basis was erroneous and greatly overestimated;
• geodetic surveys on construction site were carried out in the summer - the level of groundwater rise was not calculated;
• a mistake was made when choosing the type of foundation - for example, instead of a columnar one, a linear one was laid;
• calculations of the depth of the foundation and its thickness were not made - usually data from past construction projects are taken as the basis for these parameters;
• violations of the technology for laying a sand cushion under the foundation - for example, insufficient layer thickness or poor-quality sand compaction.

Note:cracks in an old house can also occur due to structural changes in the building. Often, owners install a subfloor in a foundation that is not intended for this purpose, and the result will be displacement/shrinkage of the foundation base.

When even a small crack is detected, the main question arises: is it dangerous? Checking this is quite simple - you need to install a control beacon and observe the “behavior” of the crack for a long time. Professionals install special control beacons - plate ones, which must be registered in supervisory authorities. At home, with independent decision problems, you can use one of the following methods:

• stick a strip of paper onto the crack indicating the installation date;
• prepare a gypsum solution and place a strip of it on the crack.

And then all that remains is to wait and periodically check the status of the control beacon. It may take several months before any conclusions can be drawn - experts say that the crack needs to be monitored for 8-12 months.

How dangerous it is will be shown by a break in the control beacon - if there is such a phenomenon, then you will need to use complex technical solutions to eliminate the problem, if there is no break in the beacon, then you should not worry at all.

Methods for eliminating cracks in the house

Different cracks can be fixed in certain ways - you must first determine the level of the problem.

Note:if the control beacon shows a rapidly expanding crack, then no methods of eliminating cracks with your own hands will help - they will only have a short-term effect. Be sure to invite specialists to solve the problem, otherwise the consequences will be the most terrible - the collapse of the wall or the entire structure!

How to fix a crack in a house from the inside

If small cracks are found on the wall inside the house, then eliminating them is as easy as shelling pears. All you need is a primer and a special putty mesh. You need to act according to the instructions below:

• we clean the surface of building materials and finishing - the wall should be perfectly clean;
• use a primer deep penetration(with exactly this marking!) – cover the entire cleaned surface;
• glue the putty mesh onto the entire prepared surface;

Note:a special mesh must be used to cover the entire area of ​​damage on the wall - even small sections of cracks should not protrude beyond its boundaries.

• Apply a small layer of putty to the mesh and leave until completely dry.

Only after the putty layer has completely dried can you begin to grout the surface and glue wallpaper or other finishing materials.

Repairing a crack in a house from the outside of a wall

If small cracks appear on the outside of the house, you should proceed according to the same principle as in the above option. Procedure:

• the crack site is cleared of plaster or debris;
• apply a layer of deep penetration primer and glue the putty mesh onto it;
• apply putty. But! In case of eliminating cracks on external walls, it is advisable to use special putty, reinforced - it is resistant to negative impact atmospheric changes.

If the cracks are outside the walls of the house are not only covered with plaster, but also extend to the brickwork, then you will have to put in a lot more effort. And in this case, the algorithm of actions will be as follows:

Note:the metal mesh must cover the entire surface intended for applying a new layer of plaster. So blur new plaster will not be, which will allow you to flawlessly apply finishing materials.

This situation means only one thing - it is urgently necessary to take drastic measures to eliminate this problem. If you ignore all the recommendations of specialists and limit yourself only to the repair options described above, the result will be the collapse of the entire house. But even a beginner can cope with the work of eliminating such complex active cracks - the main thing is to strictly adhere to the following instructions:

1. All the plaster on the wall at the location of the crack is knocked off - be sure to maintain a distance of 50 cm on each side of the crack.
2. The crack is cleaned of mortar and dirt - this can be done with a metal spatula.
3. The cleaned crack is filled with polyurethane foam.
4. Fastening metal plates, which will tighten the crack, preventing it from spreading further. The following points must be taken into account::

• the plate must be selected from thick, high-quality metal;
• to obtain an optimal result, you will need to tighten the crack with at least 3 plates, and if the crack is long, then you may need 4 or 5 metal plates;
• The plates are fastened using self-tapping screws, but using dowels.

After applying the fastening metal plates, you can continue working according to the usual algorithm - priming/fixing the reinforcing mesh/applying new plaster.

But keep in mind that such measures serve as a temporary measure, since without a specific formation it will not be possible to determine the cause of the appearance of active cracks. Most often in the future it will be necessary to carry out correctional work on the foundation - it is either strengthened/strengthened, or the walls/roof of the house are raised and complete replacement grounds.

Preventing cracks in the house

To avoid having to deal with cracks in your home, you should familiarize yourself with the prevention of this phenomenon.

Firstly, if you are just designing a house, you need to take several points into account:

• geodetic surveys must be carried out - this will help determine the type of soil, the location of aquifers, and the depth of groundwater;
• Even at the design stage, it is necessary to provide for the possibility of building a subfloor/cellar under the house - this will entail serious design changes;
• It is imperative to familiarize yourself with the depth of soil freezing - the depth of the foundation will depend on this.

Secondly, when buying an old house, pay attention to the existing walls, invite specialists to assess their condition - cracks are often hidden behind small cracks. serious problems in the stability/reliability of the entire structure. One more point - there should be a blind area around the entire house - this will prevent moisture from entering the foundation, and therefore will prevent its destruction.

The facing brick is bursting, what should I do?

When buying bricks, professionals always ask sellers: “Does the brick shoot?”. Naturally, a block of baked clay itself will not shoot at anyone, but a defect with the same name can significantly hit your wallet.

The fact is that technological process Brick production involves grinding clay mass. Often there are pieces of lime in it that are not ground enough and end up in ready brick. In a dry state, such a brick does not reveal itself in any way; the rare eye of a professional will notice traces of shooting on a brick that has not yet been wet or wintered. Single front, textured, figured - no one is immune from such a defect. When purchasing, try to consider facade brick and discover lumps of lime that are baked into the crock. Such material should not be purchased in order to next spring the journey through torment did not begin.

Typical story - built brick house or they lined a building made of blocks with brick, overwintered, and in the spring they realized that the brick had begun to crack. The outer part of the brick begins to peel off, as it were, leaving unsightly gaps and craters. These potholes may also have white marks in the center. The owner of the house is confused. Replace bricks one by one? Plaster? Should I varnish or cover it with another brick?

In this case, experts recommend many options for action - from coating with varnish and hydrophobes, to filling voids or repositioning the front layer. They agree on one thing - you cannot encourage factory defects through inaction, so if you bought a facing brick, and it started to “shoot” over time, contact the dealer or the factory and try to resolve the issue amicably. It is for this reason that we recommend saving all the documents that were provided when purchasing the brick - quality certificate, delivery note, invoice. If there is no agreement, you will have to go to trial.

This defect does not arise from excessive loads or severe frosts, but from the insufficient quality of the brick itself. The brick picks up a certain amount of moisture (no more than 14% according to GOST 530-2012), for example, freezing and thawing within the established frost resistance F25-F75. So what conditions caused these “shootings”?

“Shooting” or “dutik” as it is called occurs due to poorly ground clay mass. It contains granules of quicklime, which when exposed to water turn into compounds that, increasing in volume, spoil the surface of the brick. So, when the solution gets in contact with rain or soaking, a reaction begins with the release of carbon dioxide, which causes chips. Shooting from a brick can be so strong that it can endanger a person - brick particles can get into the eyes.

GOST does not allow damage to facing bricks due to inclusions, so the truth is on your side. Make sure you buy ceramic brick, which was released precisely by GOST 530-2007 or GOST 530-2012, and not according to the specifications and it is the facing brick, and not the construction, ordinary, rough brick. “Dutiki” is a factory defect that not lazy people present to the factory in judicial procedure. Such a brick cannot and should not be called GOST certified.

Remember that you need to purchase bricks from trusted places, from dealers working with generally recognized manufacturers. Market building materials Today it is such that ceramic bricks are often counterfeited and sold under the guise of being a completely inappropriate product.

Our company works only with trusted suppliers. You can view a sample of each brick in detail online or touch it in our offices. When ordering from our website, fast and careful delivery to any point in Russia and the CIS is guaranteed.