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[SPIDERMAN]

Please understand that this post is not intended to be a jerk and make you feel bad, but that house is structurally unsound. How old is this house ? Unless things have changed, your contractor's insurance company is on the hook for 10 years even if the guy has gone out of business. You've got major, major structural issues there. You can't fix that by jacking it up and putting a stronger beam under it.That entire section of the house will have to be torn down and re-built. There is no way you can repair that without proper permitting and once a building inspector sees that you're probably looking at the house being yellow taped and condemned untill repaired. Time to call in this order, A) a lawyer, B) a reputable contractor c) the town bldg inspector. Sorry for the mess you're in. PM Big Daddy and ask him what he thinks. He is in the business.

B B 

[The Mysterious Q!]

Well Is the house wood frame with brick veneer? If so is there a steel lintel above the garage door to carry the weight of the brick? And if there is a lintel is it posted to the foundation with steel posts.If its veneer are you sure they used brick ties in the construction.PM if you want and I'll give you my cell. Later,Q

[Chief]

Please understand that this post is not intended to be a jerk and make you feel bad, but that house is structurally unsound. How old is this house ? Unless things have changed, your contractor's insurance company is on the hook for 10 years even if the guy has gone out of business. You've got major, major structural issues there. You can't fix that by jacking it up and putting a stronger beam under it.That entire section of the house will have to be torn down and re-built. There is no way you can repair that without proper permitting and once a building inspector sees that you're probably looking at the house being yellow taped and condemned untill repaired. Time to call in this order, A) a lawyer, B) a reputable contractor c) the town bldg inspector. Sorry for the mess you're in. PM Big Daddy and ask him what he thinks. He is in the business.

B B 

Talk to me B B. What I see is a sagging beam in the garage door opening caused by insufficient structure to support the weight of the brick veneer. It's frame construction, so a cracked veneer is not structural. Isn't that right? The house was built in 2002. We bought it new in 2003.

I have placed a call to the phone number I have for the builder. Hopefully it is still a good number.

Thank you for your input.

Chuck

[Hoist!]

Talk to me B B. What I see is a sagging beam in the garage door opening caused by insufficient structure to support the weight of the brick veneer. It's frame construction, so a cracked veneer is not structural. Isn't that right? The house was built in 2002. We bought it new in 2003.

I have placed a call to the phone number I have for the builder. Hopefully it is still a good number.

Thank you for your input.

Chuck

Chuck, give John a call and explain the details to him. He can guide you as he know's his chit. Hoist!

[Chief]

Well Is the house wood frame with brick veneer? If so is there a steel lintel above the garage door to carry the weight of the brick? And if there is a lintel is it posted to the foundation with steel posts.If its veneer are you sure they used brick ties in the construction.PM if you want and I'll give you my cell. Later,Q

BigDaddy,

Yes, frame const. with brick veneer. The lintel is there, and due to the bow induced by the downward pressure, it has actually 'tipped' or 'rolled' a bit forward as the 'L' shape has deformed a bit. I don't know how the lintel is supported, my assumption was that it was resting on the bricks adjacent to the opening. I have to assume ties were used. They couldn't be THAT stupid or cheap. I know they can, but I sure hope not.

[Chief]

Chuck, give John a call and explain the details to him. He can guide you as he know's his chit. Hoist!

I'm really surprised Eagle Eye Hoist didn't spot that big gap up by the window. 

[Chief]

Ok, here is a picture trying to show the amount of sag. Without pulling a string on it, I'm guessing somewhere on the order of .5 inch across the opening of about 18 feet.

[Chief]

This shot shows the gap that has opened up between the lintel and the brick since the lintel has deformed a bit due to the sag.

[SPIDERMAN]

Chief
        The reason I said the house is structurally unsound is because all that brick is unstable. The thing with brickwork and any stonework is that once the joints are compromised, all hell can break loose at any time. You need to do several things right off. First off, get a 6 x 12 wooden beam and jack it up under sagging overhear and support it with some 6x 6 posts set four feet apart. Then you need to brace the brick (veneer if you will ) face of the house so that doesn't topple down the way to do that is with sheets of plywood and 2 x 8 braces sandwiched three layers thick like a  beam-- - stagger the joints to get the length you need and angled to the ground with stakes driven in behind them so the braces can't kick out. Beyond that you need to put up some signs cautioning people. That's all to protect anyone from getting hurt or you from getting sued. You don't need either. Sorry to say, my advice would be not to trust the yahoo that built this although if he is still in business you are obligated to give him the opportunity to correct the problem. You need to contact your own insurance agent for advice on what to do dealing with the contractor's insurance. Your homeowner's will get involved because they would be on the hook to your mortgage company if the city declared the house uninhabitable for any reason. You should also get an independant inspection outside of the the company that built the house. I would be interested to see photos from inside the building on the opposite of those photos showing the cracks in the joints of the brickwork. If they did use brick ties and you've got all this going on, it could be pulling down some of the structure the brick ties are nailed to. We've got a bunch of folks in the business on this site. John Q ( Big Daddy) Chip (Silver / Black ) JCZ to name a few. Where do you live ?

B B

[Chief]

Chief
        The reason I said the house is structurally unsound is because all that brick is unstable. The thing with brickwork and any stonework is that once the joints are compromised, all hell can break loose at any time. You need to do several things right off. First off, get a 6 x 12 wooden beam and jack it up under sagging overhear and support it with some 6x 6 posts set four feet apart. Then you need to brace the brick (veneer if you will ) face of the house so that doesn't topple down the way to do that is with sheets of plywood and 2 x 8 braces sandwiched three layers thick like a  beam-- - stagger the joints to get the length you need and angled to the ground with stakes driven in behind them so the braces can't kick out. Beyond that you need to put up some signs cautioning people. That's all to protect anyone from getting hurt or you from getting sued. You don't need either. Sorry to say, my advice would be not to trust the yahoo that built this although if he is still in business you are obligated to give him the opportunity to correct the problem. You need to contact your own insurance agent for advice on what to do dealing with the contractor's insurance. Your homeowner's will get involved because they would be on the hook to your mortgage company if the city declared the house uninhabitable for any reason. You should also get an independant inspection outside of the the company that built the house. I would be interested to see photos from inside the building on the opposite of those photos showing the cracks in the joints of the brickwork. If they did use brick ties and you've got all this going on, it could be pulling down some of the structure the brick ties are nailed to. We've got a bunch of folks in the business on this site. John Q ( Big Daddy) Chip (Silver / Black ) JCZ to name a few. Where do you live ?

B B

Brian,

Thanks for the reply. I appreciate you taking the time to be so thorough. As for the inside, I hae looked for anything and eveything to indicate interior movement, and can't see anything, inside the garage, master bath and adjoining closet. I don't see any pulled caulk, tape, cracks, or any other signs of stress or strain. That's probably why I didn't see this earlier as there are no signs except the shifted brick.

We're leaving tomorrow for DC and will address the situation next week.

Thanks to everyone who has shared their concerns and suggestions on this issue. My head is spinning 100 mph, trying to put together a plan. Thanks for all of your input.

Chuck

[SBB]

Chuck

Thanks for the message!

My response is probably not going to be a popular one, but hell, most of mine aren't.

A couple of things,

Brickwork is just like concrete which is just like stucco, it's a masonry product.
ALL masonry products CRACK!
Whether on the surface or under, there will be cracks.
When brick is attached to another surface cracking is inevitable.
Also note that correctly installed brick will carry itself. Brick installed correctly is self supporting.
(look at stone and brick arches done hundreds of years ago as proof)
Lintels provide support for masonry product when they are first layed (or installed).
Brick ties provide the same and also offer laterial support.

But to your situation,
Every day, every second on your house you are having movement. Even if measured in the thousandth of an inch there is movement. My opinion is that the lintel that was originally installed was not of sufficient strength to carry the weight of the brick load above it as it was installed. That is where the bow you see came from. The lintel was carrying all the load (along with the brick ties) until the mortor dried (setup).
The picture that shows the gap under the lintel is the most telling of all to me. That tells me the brick is carrying itself and not even resting on the lintel. Assuming there are brick ties that provide the lateral support in that wall I would ask your painter to caulk the cracks next to the windows and find some mortor that matches and point up
(fill in) the cracks in the brick. I would bet money that come winter time the gap above the lintel will close some and not be as noticeable. That would be my game plan if that was my house.

Or,
You could call the builder and raise all mortal hell about how your house is falling down and your going to call the local TV station. Then request him to get a structural engineer to come look at it and give you a letter concerning the condition of your home along with the recommendation for a fix. Then go get you some mortor and some caulk.

After that, go on with your life and have fun riding and have fun on this site. I look forward to your post and meeting you someday. No racing though, that chit gets me in to much trouble!

 

[HogBreath]

Chuck

Thanks for the message!

My response is probably not going to be a popular one, but hell, most of mine aren't.

A couple of things,

Brickwork is just like concrete which is just like stucco, it's a masonry product.
ALL masonry products CRACK!
Whether on the surface or under, there will be cracks.
When brick is attached to another surface cracking is inevitable.
Also note that correctly installed brick will carry itself. Brick installed correctly is self supporting.
(look at stone and brick arches done hundreds of years ago as proof)
Lintels provide support for masonry product when they are first layed (or installed).
Brick ties provide the same and also offer laterial support.

But to your situation,
Every day, every second on your house you are having movement. Even if measured in the thousandth of an inch there is movement. My opinion is that the lintel that was originally installed was not of sufficient strength to carry the weight of the brick load above it as it was installed. That is where the bow you see came from. The lintel was carrying all the load (along with the brick ties) until the mortor dried (setup).
The picture that shows the gap under the lintel is the most telling of all to me. That tells me the brick is carrying itself and not even resting on the lintel. Assuming there are brick ties that provide the lateral support in that wall I would ask your painter to caulk the cracks next to the windows and find some mortor that matches and point up
(fill in) the cracks in the brick. I would bet money that come winter time the gap above the lintel will close some and not be as noticeable. That would be my game plan if that was my house.

Or,
You could call the builder and raise all mortal hell about how your house is falling down and your going to call the local TV station. Then request him to get a structural engineer to come look at it and give you a letter concerning the condition of your home along with the recommendation for a fix. Then go get you some mortor and some caulk.

After that, go on with your life and have fun riding and have fun on this site. I look forward to your post and meeting you someday. No racing though, that chit gets me in to much trouble!

 

I tend to agree 100%. I'm not a home builder, but I am a GC. The brick veneer wall is not going to fall off. It's going to crack, period. I see sheetrock crack around door headers in most homes. Movement, a little settlement. Sheetrock and brick will crack.

[WFP]

every wither, the doors to our master bath and closet stick...every summer they swing free...this has gone on for the last 8+ years we have been in the house.  Houses definately move...

[SBB]

I tend to agree 100%. I'm not a home builder, but I am a GC. The brick veneer wall is not going to fall off. It's going to crack, period. I see sheetrock crack around door headers in most homes. Movement, a little settlement. Sheetrock and brick will crack.

Hey thanks Ken!

That reminds me of a point I forgot to make.

In Chucks post he also said that there was no sheetrock cracks or tape coming loose.
That is just another indication that the cracks in the brick are normal and there are no foundation issues at play here!

Sheetrock, just like mortor, stucco or concrete does and will crack.

Thanks H/B!

S
  /
    B

[The Mysterious Q!]

Chip I see it the same wat you do. Every job we do with veneer there is cracking bin the mortar joints. Wood moves with humidity and seasonal changes,stone and mortar don't. The lintel as all have said is not sufficient enough to hold the weight of the brick above hence the bow(like you have also said). Is the house safe,yes its safe its only settling but if you look at the pics it seems the whole section above the garage door is pulling as one mass to the right and thats why the cracks are following themselves to the weakest point in a zig zag from the weakest point. Once a grout line goes and you get the mass moving its like a fault line and it follows to the next weakest grout joint until it alleviates the pressure on it.With the amount of weight on that lintel(i.e. the floor above)It should have been either a steel I or channel that was posted to the foundation enough to carry the load on its own ,not a typical lintel installation of sitting it on the brick and lagging it to the header. But construction practices are different everywhere. Here we have hurricane engineering ,and snow loads to deal with so we tend to over engineer. I in my business use structural engineer for all my load calcs and steel drawings.So in conclusion, I think Chief is not in any immenent danger but it will continue to sag and the mortar joints where the cracks are will still get larger until its properly supported.Also you noted the space between the brick and the lintel with out actually seeing it first hand the gap you see may be the steel rolling forward becaues of the weight on it and the sag it is forming.There is no way to tell in that pic. Also brick ties may be strong but they aren't going to hold brick lateraly with out sag. My .02  Later,Q