When properly installed and maintained, brick foundations provide a durable and attractive base for your home. However, if you begin to notice cracks in your brick foundation, don’t make the mistake of chalking it up to a cosmetic flaw. In most cases, cracked bricks in a house’s foundation are indicative of major structural issues that need to be addressed.

What Causes Cracks in Brick Walls

The most common cause of cracking brick foundations is a sinking or shifting foundation. This is often triggered when a home rests on uneven ground, which pushes sections of the foundation in conflicting directions.

Carefully observe your foundation for one or more of the following signs:

• Diagonal “stair-step” cracks: If you see these types of cracks, they are very likely due to a sinking foundation.
• Crumbling mortar: Another key indicator of a sinking foundation is when the mortar in between bricks begins to crumble.
• Chimney separation: If your chimney is beginning to separate from the rest of your home, it is time to seek foundation repair from a qualified professional.

Why Do Foundations Sink?

An inadequate foundation can cause devastating damage to your home, and its condition will continue to worsen unless you take measures to add additional support. But before you can repair or prevent further damage, you must first understand its source.

Common circumstances that lead to a sinking foundation include:

• Weak soil: Foundations hold up best when installed in firm soil.
• Tree roots: If large trees grow near your home, their roots may continue to spread and become invasive to your foundation.
• Hydrostatic pressure: The deeper your foundation goes, the greater the pressure that will be exerted on it by water in the soil.

How Added Support Can Prevent Further Deterioration

When one or more of the above factors causes your brick foundation to sink and crack, the only effective solution is to add additional support. It may be tempting to try to cover up the cracking with “quick-fix” methods, such as:

• Crack fills: Although injection systems are effective for fixing some types of problems, diagnosing and treating your home’s unique condition should be left to a professional.
• High-pressure grout: Although many homeowners use this technique to attempt to fix cracks, the results are dubious at best. Even worse, grout weighs foundations down further, accelerating sinking.
  
  

Foundation repair is an intensive process that cannot be replaced by DIY tactics. Instead, it should only be performed by skilled professionals.

Intech Anchoring’s Permanent Brick Foundation Repair

Intech Anchoring offers an enduring foundation repair solution that will last for the life of your home. Our highly capable team will install one of the following:

• Helical piers: Ideal for homes built on soft soil, these steel shafts transfer your house’s weight down to the deeper, heavier earth and help correct failed foundations.
• Helical anchors: These easy-to-install foundation supports don’t require significant excavation; instead, they are “threaded” into the ground underneath your home.
  
  

When you employ Intech Anchoring to install one of these effective solutions, your foundation will remain secure, eliminating cracks and returning your home to its rightful value.

If cracks in your brick foundation are raising concerns, Intech Anchoring can help. Schedule a consultation today to learn more.