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We eliminate cracks in the wall - urgent do-it-yourself repairs. If a crack appears in a brick wall, then something is wrong in the house Cracks in construction

A cracked wall should not be treated negligently. A crack in the wall of the house is a consequence of a violation of the technology of building a foundation or walls. After reading our short educational program, you will learn how to correctly determine the cause of the appearance of cracks by indirect signs. And, as a result, you can quickly eliminate the flaw, avoiding further complications.

Causes of cracks

Due to the movement of the soil layers, the entire building tilts to one side or the other, but on the whole the building is held tightly and monolithically, thanks to a massive and strong base. And this is what scares: if cracks appear on the wall, it means that the foundation does not fulfill its function.

Meanwhile, there are a number of reasons due to which cracks can form without destroying the base. And if the foundation is not rigid enough or the supporting soils do not evenly accept the load, the tape will bend more than the walls can withstand. We can safely say that cracks appear due to the imperfection of the building structure, design errors or shortcomings during construction.

Cracks can be the result of errors in the design, construction or improper operation of the building.

The root cause is the fact that the soil layer under the foundation is heterogeneous. In areas of high density, the pressure is greater, causing the building to rest on just a few points and deform under its own weight. The main feature is that the density of plots can change significantly over time or depending on weather conditions. Due to freezing, heaving of the soil occurs, when wet it becomes too soft, less often geological, seismic and geomorphological factors come into play.

Just repairing or hiding a crack is not enough; you should find out the cause of its formation and only after that start restoration.

How to determine the cause of a crack

At the first detection of cracks, it is necessary to begin close monitoring of their development, fixing in parallel changes in temperature and the presence of precipitation during this period. In order to have the most complete picture of the nature of cracking, it is useful to keep a detailed log throughout the year.

For a visual representation of changes in the width of the cracks, small lumps of alabaster, soaked to the consistency of plasticine, are attached to them. Beacons are installed along the entire length of the crack every meter. By periodically checking the marks, for example, after a month, two, and so on, we can conclude about the nature of the damage:

If the label cracked or fell off, then the crack continues to expand. By the gap in the mark, one can judge the speed of discrepancy.
If the mark is cracked, there is no gap, the wall is subjected to dynamic loads, but there is no longer stress in the material, and no further discrepancy is observed.
If the mark remains intact, then there is no stress in the wall. The crack was the result of one-time shrinkage.

To obtain more accurate information, observations are continued for a long period, and damaged marks are replaced with new ones with fixation of the previous result.

Any hard but brittle material capable of revealing the slightest deformations of the base can be used as marks.

The shape of the cracks can tell a lot about the nature of the movement. If the fracture site is even, the edge is sharp and has no chips, then the crack has expanded and simply tore the lighthouse. If the edges of the crack on the lighthouse have jagged edges, or it has completely disappeared, most likely, the crack, on the contrary, has decreased, and the lighthouse collapsed from compression.

The special shape of marks and beacons helps to detect even the slightest fluctuations

By projecting these changes onto the geometric model of the house and foundation, you will be able to establish with high accuracy how precipitation occurs over a long time, whether it depends on the wetting of the earth during rain, where there are places of high and low density.

And yet, only a comprehensive analysis performed by specialists on the basis of an examination, which includes:

strength control of supporting structures;
analysis of supporting soils;
detection of hidden cracks or uneven distribution of loads.

Ultimately, with your own observations or with outside help, it will be possible to draw up a plan of measures to strengthen the foundation and walls of the building and eliminate cracks.

Eliminate the cause, get rid of the crack

The most dangerous case is when the crack continues to expand. This suggests that the walls of the building or the foundation will be irreparably destroyed. The problem can be cardinally solved only by a complete restructuring of the emergency section of the building. However, if you notice the problem in time, then a much less radical way will help - tight at home.

Everything is done quite simply:

Steel corners with a 100 mm shelf are installed at the outer corners.
On crutches, at least two lines of smooth reinforcement are laid along the walls - upper and lower.
Each rod is threaded: on one side, left, on the other, right. Nuts are screwed onto the fittings, which are welded to the corners.
A meter from the corner, on the side of the reinforcing bars, it is welded along a small parallel bar so that the rotation can be transmitted with an ordinary adjustable wrench.
In the final tightening, two people twist the bar at the same time, gradually increasing the tension.

At the same time, the cracks literally melt before our eyes, it remains only to replace the protective plaster of the walls and the plinth, reinforcing it with a steel mesh.

An example of building bracing along the plinth

It is possible that the markers on the crack will remain intact for a long time, or the gap will constantly expand and narrow, but generally not increase. This is a clear sign that the foundation is working normally, and there were initially excessive stresses in the material of the walls, which resulted in a crack.

To strengthen the wall in a problem area use:

external reinforcement with carbon fiber, steel mesh;
anchors and metal frames;
embedded reinforcing elements along the strobes;
injection method.

It is important to close the crack and restore the strength of the structure. If the cause was the wrong dressing of the brick rows, then it is quite possible that the only effective remedy would be a complete or partial re-laying of the wall in the emergency area.

Laying reinforcement in strobes helps to contain further deformations

Massive reinforcement with an external frame with anchor fastening to the wall

Reinforcing walls with external carbon fiber reinforcement

Elimination of cracks by injection method

To seal any cracks, it is necessary to clean it along its entire length and depth from dirt, dust, remove a layer of mortar and base material, expanding it to 15 mm or more. The resulting gap is filled with a solution, having previously performed reinforcement by one of the methods listed above.

Heaving as a result of soaking the soil

So that the soil under the foundation is not oversaturated with moisture, a blind area is mounted around the house and drain pipes are diverted as far as possible. However, over time, the screed can collapse, and rainwater will seep right under the foundation, washing it away.

Usually, a sign of such a phenomenon is the gradual expansion of cracks, which occurs mainly during heavy precipitation or some time after it. It is typical for such phenomena that cracks, as it were, “chop off” the corners of the house, passing through the nearest window openings.

Frost heaving can destroy the foundation of a house

The foundation continues to remain intact, but the general tilt of the building may increase from year to year. In addition, no one knows how much the next shrinkage will occur, and how this will affect the integrity of the concrete base. Heaving due to high humidity can also occur due to the rise of perched water.

A drainage system assembled around the perimeter of the building to drain groundwater and perched water away from the foundation will help to qualitatively solve the problem. It is necessary to expose the foundation to the base, lay the drainage pipe on the prepared sand and gravel pad around the perimeter of the foundation and drain to the side. To discharge water, it is necessary to prepare a drainage well or bring a pipe to the nearest reservoir.

Drainage for the removal of groundwater, precipitation and melt water from the base of the foundation

A wide blind area will not allow precipitation to flow under the foundation

An obligatory step towards eliminating the problem is the restoration of the cement blind area and its expansion. Usually, for a shallow strip foundation, a blind area about 40-60 cm wide is sufficient, and for buried foundations - up to one and a half meters. It will also not be superfluous to install low tides and discharge rainwater 4-5 meters from the house.

What to do if the problem is in the foundation

If no measures have been successful, you will have to look for a problem in the foundation. A prerequisite for this can be not only the visible formation of a crack in the exposed area, but also the general structural unsuitability of the base, causing insufficient rigidity.

Local faults in the foundation should be repaired immediately. First, a tunnel is dug to a depth of 60-100 cm under the lower edge of the tape and up to 2 meters wide. A pedestal reinforced with reinforcement is poured under the fracture point, after which the pit is expanded by another meter in each direction and topped up again.

Strengthening the foundation with piles

Do not forget that the reason may be an initial miscalculation in the design of the house or non-compliance with the requirements during construction:

the properties of supporting soils are not taken into account;
the depth of the foundation is incorrectly selected to the actual depth of freezing;
foundation width is not sufficient for real loads, etc.

Strengthening the foundation with additional pouring of reinforced concrete along the perimeter of the building

If cracks appear in the foundation and walls of the house, then measures should be taken immediately to strengthen the foundation, for example, screw piles, side or bottom grout. It is possible to determine which strengthening method is required only based on the data of the construction expertise and the preparation of the corresponding project, which is best entrusted to professional designers.

Many people know the expression of the famous poetess Faina Ranevskaya that in a few years life gives cracks that will grow over time if they are not patched up in time. So it is with a residential building, if a split or a small crack appears on the load-bearing wall, then it is urgently necessary to address this problem.

The very first question that comes to mind is “ What to do if a brick wall cracked?”

First of all, it is necessary to consult with a professional builder, because a person who does not even have a minimum level of knowledge in the field of building and repairing a foundation will find it very difficult to understand how to get rid of this problem once and for all.

Why does brick crack how to repair cracks in a brick wall similar brickwork? These questions need to be considered from many angles. So let's get started.

Types and causes of crack formation

Today, construction companies offer a revolutionary, strong and durable Portland cement, which has revolutionized the building materials industry. It is distinguished not only by its durability, but also by the instantaneous hardening rate, which, perhaps, is its main advantage among competitors in the field of strengthening materials.

All experienced builders know that immediately after construction, the building does not immediately firmly and for a long time take its place in the main foundation, this process takes about five to ten years, and the cement mortar, on the contrary, very quickly gains its strength. Such a very large difference between the time of subsidence and settlement of the house can lead to the appearance of cracks and large splits, which will intensively tear the mass of the bearing masonry.

Well, as for the solution of lime with the addition of sand, things are much simpler. It hardens rather slowly and at the beginning of the settlement of the foundation itself, empty or through voids in the walls should not arise. This strengthening technology is mainly used exclusively in the construction of new houses according to today's standard, and as time shows, in new buildings there are no problems with cracks and foundation settlement for a long time.

Builders - specialists share cracks among themselves in brickwork according to such signs:

Because of what they appear: deformation of the structure of the house, shrinkage or thermal wear of a residential building;
External and internal view of the destruction itself on the wall: Split, tear, cut;
Destruction direction: horizontal, vertical, inclined at various angles;
Shape: curved, straight, closed or torn in half (that is, it almost does not reach the edge of the load-bearing wall).
Size and depth: on the surface of the wall and inside it;
How difficult is the repair work, what is the risk of wall destruction: dangerous and non-dangerous;
Time since destruction: stable or unstable;
The size of the opening of the split or crack itself: microscopic (up to one millimeter), small (up to three millimeters), medium (from four to eight millimeters), large (more than ten millimeters), very large (from fifteen millimeters or more).

A few main reasons for the appearance of such destruction on the wall, which, by the way, are quite a lot:

Settling or destruction of the soil itself. This problem can be caused by uneven natural burning of the soil (its strong and weak sections), incorrect and unacceptable load of the main foundation, leakage into the soil of a very large amount of runoff, as well as polluted water. It is these reasons that can lead to the appearance of large indirect splits or to the formation of vertical cracks that can reach right up to the edge of the load-bearing wall, and so on.
Strong hardening of the soil on which the house stands. A similar phenomenon can cause severe frosts, which can cause an uneven rise in the foundation. In particular, hardening of the ground is very dangerous for a building that has not yet been completed, the walls of which have not yet hardened and have not acquired the necessary stability. Specifically, in this case, uneven and deep cracks can form near the walls, and when the soil begins to thaw after the winter, it is more likely that the opposite process may occur - the foundation will settle, which can lead to new damage to the bearing walls.
A new repair for a load-bearing wall may be needed after the addition of a small building or room, as the foundation may not withstand the new, additional weight and settle.
Uneven and unstable loads on the foundation of the house. For example, if a house is built in Art Nouveau style, then luxurious and long glazing (which is very often used in this architectural style) can often alternate with small blind areas of the house, which will lead to a large difference in weight and ground settlement.
If the pit is located next to the building, then very high temperature conditions also adversely affect the soil, which in the future can lead not only to soil settlement, but also to its excessive looseness. It is for these reasons that medium-sized cracks can form on the walls.
Extra load due to neighboring houses. On a common foundation, the zones of greatest stress overlap each other and allow the soil to settle very strongly.
The reasons can be not only in the soil itself, but also above it. For example, the collection of heavy building material in large quantities next to an unfinished building and already in the ground itself, additional loads and stresses may appear, and it is they who can cause a very strong external settlement of the foundation and the appearance of large cracks and splits.
Permanent impact on the foundation. For example, if you drive piles on the territory of a residential building, constantly move heavy vehicles, compressors work - all this leads to drowning of sandy soil and a strong softening of clay masses in the soil. In the aggregate of all these factors, you can get soil settlement and cracks on load-bearing walls.
Exposure to high temperatures can cause vertical cracks and splits to form on the walls of your home. Filling cracks in masonry is mainly required for longer buildings that do not have expansion joints.
Reloading masonry. In this case, cracks can appear between the walls and on the pillars. Such cracks can be identified by the characteristic closedness and verticality of their direction. Overloading masonry. Appear in piers and on pillars. A characteristic feature of crush cracks is closedness and vertical direction.
Various non-hazardous shrinkage deformations can be observed on the plastered walls of the house - these can be small or small cracks that are very randomly scattered over the entire area of \u200b\u200bthe wall and are mostly closed, and most importantly, they do not reach the edge of the wall. They appear due to shrinkage of too thick plaster mortar.

Crack Filling Technology

There are many ways to close a crack in brickwork:

You can install a brick castle or a castle with an anchor;
Strengthening walls with tension bolts;
Repair of a through crack with steel staples;
Carry out repair work in the place of unlocking the floor slab;
Strengthen the cracked wall;
Make an overlay from hardened steel;
Install special brackets
Install a floor slab;
Cover the wall with a finishing layer.

See this video for more details:

Conclusion

Apparently, the above can be noted that the general condition of a house made of building bricks must be monitored very carefully. Since the sooner a crack or split is detected, the less time and money will have to be spent on fixing this problem.

Causes of foundation deformation

Before starting the repair of the foundation structure, it is necessary to determine the cause of the cracked foundation and choose the right effective method to eliminate the violations that have occurred. The most common reasons why the foundation could burst may be the following factors.

Technological reasons

If during the construction work on the foundation structure, violations of the mandatory technological process are made, then all these errors will lead to destructive deformations. Therefore, it is so important to properly reinforce the base, consistently mount the formwork system, choose the right brand of concrete mix, take into account the freezing depth and the level of groundwater in the area.

Operational reasons

Another reason for the opening of cracks in the foundation may be a violation of the mode of operation of housing construction. For example, on the existing foundation of a one-story house, the homeowner decided to add a second floor. Such an increase in load can adversely affect the bearing capacity of the base structure and significant damage will appear on the foundation of the house.

Increased humidity in the basement of the building and the lack of drainage from the building - all these factors can be attributed to the operational causes of cracks.

Structural reasons

The scheme of the occurrence of foundation cracks

At the design stage of the building, it is necessary to conduct a geological study of the soils of the foundation of the building plot, to correctly calculate the load on the foundation structures. If for some reason such miscalculations are made, then significant deformation changes in the base structures can certainly occur.

Crack observation

When a crack appears on the foundation, experts advise to monitor the change in the size of the crack gap, whether it will increase over time. The process of identifying the nature of crack destruction occurs in the following order:

An open crack should be carefully cleaned of plaster residues, dirt and dust.
Small gypsum beacons are installed with a thickness of not more than 5 mm with a certain step. After that, we monitor their condition.
If within two or three weeks the lighthouses did not crack and new deformations did not appear, then nothing threatens the foundation structure and the crack on the surface most likely formed from the shrinkage of the building.

A video tutorial for installing beacons can be seen:

Repair of simple cracks

Repair of simple cracks from shrinkage is carried out in several steps:

First, the crack cavity is cleaned of dust and washed with water.
After a dry crack, the entire possible depth is covered with a primer for outdoor use.
The crack cavity is filled with special sealants or cement mortar with a cement grade of at least 500.

Clearing a simple crack

Crack Repair Methods

Methods for repairing foundation cracks are selected depending on the type of materials of the main walls of the building. For stone, brick or wooden walls, there are special schemes for sealing cracks:

Strengthening the foundation of a stone or cinder block house is carried out with reinforced concrete clips, which are mounted on both sides of the foundation.
The foundation of a wooden house is rarely covered with deformation cracks. But if this happened, then with the help of jacks it is possible to raise a wooden building, having previously freed all the premises from furniture.
When strengthening the foundations of brick houses, it is possible to use two methods: pour the basement wall with a concrete mixture along a metal frame previously installed around the entire perimeter or install bored piles. The second method is very effective, in this way it is possible to restore an almost destroyed foundation, but the price of such a strengthening is quite high.

Video example of strengthening the foundation of a wooden house:

Ways to strengthen the base

Before strengthening the foundation, if there are cracks on the walls, it is necessary to choose the most appropriate method to eliminate the occurrence of deformations. Modern building technologies for sealing cracks in the foundation give the best recommendations on what to do in such cases. The following methods of strengthening the foundation are usually used.

New outsole reinforcement

First, the bursting foundation is pre-cleaned of dirt and dust, the cracks are filled with repair mortar. Under the deformed section of the structure, a small trench is dug in a checkerboard pattern, not more than 60 cm wide, to a depth of 200-300 mm below the base of the foundation. The open base of the foundation must be filled with concrete mixture and carefully compacted.

After backfilling and compacting the soil, thus strengthening the base section, it is possible to repair the next cracked section after a distance of 60 cm.

Reinforcement with special piles

The pile method of strengthening a cracked foundation is the most effective way. There are several types of piles according to the method of their installation:

Screw piles. The simplest and most common form of strengthening cracked foundations that does not require special skills. The design of the pile has the form of a pipe with helical blades at the end. During installation, the pile is screwed into the ground, only the tip remains visible on the surface.
Bored piles have a hollow structure 2 m high, into which metal reinforcement is inserted and after that the entire cavity is filled with concrete. Before the installation of bored piles, wells are drilled in increments of 1.5 to 2 m.
The use of a driven method of installing piles is not suitable for a dilapidated structure, since the walls of the building can crack from the blows of the pile driver.

Strengthening the foundation with screw piles

Additional reinforcement when strengthening the base

Reinforcement of a broken foundation by the method of additional reinforcement consists in tying the entire basement part of the structure with a reinforcing mesh of longitudinal and transverse metal reinforcement, installing formwork and pouring a concrete mixture of grade not lower than 200. This foundation strengthening technology is the most popular and less labor-intensive than other methods.

When foundation cracks appear, you should carefully study the recommendations and instructions for their elimination. Of course, it is always more difficult to repair than to build, so it is better not to make mistakes and not disrupt the technological construction process. Then there will be no need to strengthen the foundation.

All cracks that appear on the foundation of the house indicate that the foundation of the structure needs to be strengthened or repaired. But in order to do it with your own hands, you need to know about the reasons for the destruction of the base, as well as how exactly it is necessary to carry out restoration work.

Why are cracks dangerous?

If the foundation of the building is cracked, it is necessary to immediately begin work on its restoration. If this is not done, after a while, due to the skew of the house, the doors and windows will begin to jam. If the house is made of brick, the crack can spread to the wall, causing the entire structure to collapse. That is why it is necessary to start work on strengthening the base as soon as possible.

Before starting restoration work, it is worth determining the type of crack. To do this, it is enough to clean it from dust and rinse with water. After that, you need to install a beacon on the fault. The date of fixing is applied to it. This is necessary to determine the rate of destruction of the base. If the lighthouse remains intact for two weeks, the crack can simply be sealed with concrete. If the lighthouse breaks, it is necessary to begin work to strengthen the base.

Usually, cracks begin to appear in winter or spring, since it is at this time that an incorrectly created foundation begins to rise or settle unevenly. It is worth remembering that the foundation can burst due to many reasons, so you need to think about this problem at the design stage of the house.

Causes of faults

Before starting restoration work, it is necessary to determine the cause of the destruction. If these actions are neglected, even after repair, the base will gradually collapse. The causes of destruction can be divided into several groups:

Technological. An example is the creation of the foundation of a house with violations of reinforcement or installation of formwork. Also, errors include choosing the wrong brand of concrete. A technological error is also considered to be laying the foundation above the groundwater level.
Operational. Such mistakes are made already in the process of using the constructed structure. For example, an increase in the load on the foundation as a result of the creation of a second floor. Also, a violation is an increase in humidity in the basement or poor-quality installation of a drainage system near the house.
Structural. An example is the compilation of incorrect calculations during the design of a structure. Often the foundation begins to collapse ahead of time due to the fact that geological studies were not carried out before the start of construction.

Important! In order not to encounter the described problem, before building a house, it is necessary to accurately calculate the load on the foundation.

Types of cracks

Cracks in the foundation of a wooden house, which can occur on the foundation, are divided into several types:

Hairy. Such cracks are subtle and have a thickness of not more than 3 mm. Their presence only indicates a change in the outer layer of the base. Such flaws can be corrected quite easily.
Horizontal. Such defects do not affect the integrity of the foundation.
Shrinkage cracks. Such defects occur when the rules for creating a foundation are violated.
Vertical. It is these cracks that are a sign that the foundation needs to be repaired. Often they appear under the influence of groundwater on the base or due to heaving of the soil.

How to fix the problem

If you notice that the foundation of the house has cracked, you need to start strengthening it as soon as possible. Such work is carried out as follows:

first, with the help of a jack, the sagging parts of the base are raised to the design level;
after that, pits are drilled, the diameter of which is from 20 to 40 cm;
the resulting void is filled with liquid glass, cement milk or hot bitumen.

This reduces the permeability of the soil, which will make the soil more stable. The described method of strengthening can only be used when using special equipment, so for such work it is necessary to hire professional builders.

Strengthening the foundation of a stone house

The main task of repairing the base of the house is to stop the process of settlement of the structure. therefore, it is impossible to dig under the foundation without securing it. A strengthening method is often used, in which a reinforcing concrete belt is erected from all sides. Such work is carried out as follows:

A trench is dug along the tape base of the house, the width of which is approximately 45 cm. During such work, it is impossible to expose the sole of the foundation.
After that, the foundation is cleaned of dirt and dust. In this case, all cracks must be embroidered with a spatula.
Then the falling off parts of the old foundation are removed.
At the next stage, the concrete surface is treated with a primer. It is worth remembering that you need to choose deep penetration compositions.
After that, holes are drilled in the foundation. The distance between them should be about 60 cm.
Anchors are hammered into the created holes, which are subsequently welded to the reinforcing cage. The diameter of the reinforcement should be approximately 12 mm.
At the last stage, the concrete mixture is poured into the created trench. In order for the concrete solution to be evenly distributed along the trench, it is necessary to use a construction vibrator. This also helps to fill the cracks in the old foundation. If this stage of work is neglected, voids may remain in the concrete, which will subsequently cause the foundation to collapse.

Backfilling of the soil occurs only after the concrete has completely cured. If the cracks are not caused by subsidence or deformation of the foundation, they can be repaired with mortar and plastered.

It is worth remembering that if the work is carried out with an error, the foundation will quickly begin to collapse even if there are additional reinforcing structural elements.

Repair of the base of a wooden house

The cracked foundation of a wooden house can be strengthened quite simply, since such structures can be lifted with a jack and installed on temporary supports. But it is worth remembering that if the lower logs are rotten, the structure cannot be raised.

If the crowns are unreliable, rotten areas are cut out in them, after which the house is raised. After that, you can restore the foundation in one of the common ways. Often, owners of country houses install a concrete band around the base. You can also dig under the base and pour concrete pillars. This will make the foundation resistant to significant loads.

It is worth remembering that before you raise the house, you need to disassemble part of the roof in the place where it connects to the chimney. For such work, it is better to invite professional builders.

Reinforcement with piles

In some cases, it is not possible to increase the density of the soil under the structure. In such a situation, it is necessary to strengthen the foundation with piles:

If the house is wooden, the whole structure rises to temporary supports, after which the caps are tied with a grillage. After that, the structure is lowered onto a new foundation.
In the case when it is necessary to strengthen the base without raising the house, "bulls" are used. They are piles that are driven obliquely from different sides of the corner. Beams are welded onto the heads of these elements, which will serve as a support for the structure.

When using piles, it is worth remembering that their length must be sufficient so that they rest against solid ground.

Monolithic slab repair

Monolithic foundations are destroyed quite rarely, but under certain conditions it is possible. In the event of a serious crack on such a base, it can only be replaced with a new slab. No method will help stop the destruction of a monolithic foundation if it is already beginning to deform.

Conclusion

If it is impossible to completely replace the foundation for any reason, the walls are strengthened and the old sections of the slab are removed. In these places, concrete mortar is poured, which helps to temporarily maintain the integrity of the structure. you can also install concrete blocks or piles as supports.

Foundation for a private house
How to sheathe the foundation of the house outside
Pile foundation with grillage
Strengthening the foundation of a private house

Strengthening the foundation of a private house is necessary in two cases:

the foundation or wall of the house has cracked;
the house is to be reconstructed with an increase in its mass, for which the existing foundation is not designed.

The first case is obvious. If there is a crack in the foundation, it means that something has not been done correctly, and the situation must be urgently corrected. And the second one is not so critical, but requires minimal preliminary calculations.

But situations are different.

As cracks are different, so are their consequences.

In this case, there is nothing to save, but such catastrophic consequences, as a rule, if it is not the result of a serious earthquake, are preceded by primary signals in the form of small, sometimes barely noticeable, foundation cracks.

There was a crack in the wall. How to react, is it necessary to immediately strengthen the foundation?

The formation of small cracks on the wall does not mean at all that you have problems with the foundation.

Often such cracks appear on houses made of gas silicate blocks or using other cellular concrete technologies and may be associated with a violation of their laying technology or even their production technology.

The material itself has a high moisture absorption, which leads to too active drying of the plaster and increased cracking.

Large waterlogging of the blocks due to poor waterproofing can also lead to these consequences.

And on other buildings, it is often not the wall that cracks, but the finishing layer. Therefore, first of all, examine the basement. And if everything is in order with him, continue monitoring until you are finally convinced that the finish is cracking or symptoms of obvious weakness of the base appear.

If this happened, we propose the following algorithm of actions.

Identification of destruction processes

1. We cut the crack by removing the plaster around it.

2. At certain intervals, we install plaster beacons 3-5 mm thick and observe their behavior.

3. If after 2-3 weeks of observation not a single beacon cracks, you can sleep peacefully, and in between sleep choose a way to fix the problem.

But at the same time, it is desirable to extend the observation period to several months, and it is even better to survive the off-season in order to exclude the cause caused by the seasonal rise in groundwater.

But, first of all, about natural causes. Few people know, but any, even a monolithic brick house, shrinks within 1 to 5 years from the moment of construction, therefore it is possible to plaster and install windows and doors in it after at least 1 year, or even more, which is often violated . Uneven shrinkage is possible due to differences in the formulation or ingredients of masonry mortars, and even the brick itself. It is in this case that cracks can occur and the foundation has nothing to do with it.

If the reason is precisely in it, and you are convinced of this, do the same procedures with beacons with it. Perhaps this is a one-time slight subsidence due to the presence of small voids in the ground below it, which stopped after a slight subsidence of a part of the base.

So, what to do if the cracks formed in the wall and foundation do not grow for a considerable time?

Simple repair of cracks in the wall

If the cracking has not increased and the cracks are small:

Remove small fragments from it and dust as much as possible, if possible with a vacuum cleaner.
Treat to maximum depth with a deep penetration primer.
Fill the crack with a polymer or polymerized cement mortar sold in hardware stores.

For more complex methods, such as injection, it is better to invite specialists with the appropriate equipment and fixtures.

If the crack in the foundation increases, look for the cause.

Causes of destruction of the foundation and ways to eliminate them

They can be both local (sometimes banal) and global.

If you have long horizontal cracks in the basement, then the reason may not be in the foundation, but in the blind area that you connected to it, and which rises with frost heaving forces, transferring deformations to the outer part of the basement.

It is clear that it will need to be redone by installing a damper tape and repairing the base.

If you have a corner of the house that sags and there is a water drain pipe in this place, you can call yourself a bad word and start installing a point drainage. In many cases, this will stop the process.

If your foundation cracked for no apparent reason, you should make pits in the ground at a depth slightly below the level of foundation penetration, as well as on a sagging corner, on both sides of it at a distance of about half a meter.

If water appears in the pits, then you immediately need to start building a drainage system, otherwise no strengthening of the foundation will save you. See how to do it here.

The foundation may crack if there are so-called. voids in the ground, unnoticed during construction, because few people carry out serious geodetic research during the construction of individual housing. This can also happen due to incorrect calculation of loads or a violation of the technology of its device.

In these cases, it needs to be strengthened.

How to strengthen the foundation with your own hands

How to strengthen the foundation if there is a crack in the wall? Let's make a reservation right away, we will describe the methods that you can apply on your own, without involving specialized organizations, both to strengthen the foundation of a brick house and to strengthen the foundation of an old wooden structure. If none of them suits you, contact the professionals.

Let's consider the ways.

1. Tying the basement of the house.

It is used if the foundation has cracked in many places or before the reconstruction of the house with an increase in the load on its foundation.

At the same time, it is rarely possible to tie the foundation tape on both sides. The exception is strip foundations under wooden or frame houses, which can be completely evenly raised on jacks.

In other cases, the foundation is tied from the outside. For this:

break through a trench along the foundation along the perimeter of the building to a depth below its occurrence by 150 - 300 mm, and if possible, then under it by 1/3 of its width;
make a drainage cushion from a layer of sand (up to 100 mm) and crushed stone (up to 100 mm);
perform spatial piping from reinforcement 10 - 12 mm, connecting it with the existing foundation by drilling holes in it and driving pieces of reinforcement;
expose the external formwork and pour concrete of grade not lower than M200.

A variant of such a strapping on the video:

2. Strengthening the foundation with a double-sided bench.

This method is also good when the entire building can be lifted.

Or it needs to be done in sections, gradually tearing off the foundation tape so that there is a constant support on the existing foundation.

This type of amplification can be done in two ways:

with the chasing of the existing foundation and the introduction of an unloading beam into the strobe;
bringing the beam under the foundation tape.

In any case, it is based on a monolithic reinforced concrete banquet, which is brought under the existing foundation strip, and several supporting and unloading beams, which are subsequently concreted from the outside along with the banquet.

3. Strengthening the foundation with screw piles.

For this:

tear off a section of the foundation that needs to be strengthened;
screw piles are screwed under it at an angle;
concreted both around the piles and under the foundation.

4. Strengthening the foundation with a reinforced concrete pad.

Most often, in this way, the sagging corner of the house is strengthened, although it is also possible to eliminate the cause of local subsidence of the foundation section, which was formed due to water or sewer leaks that were not detected in time.

Work order:

dig the foundation on both sides of the corner by at least a meter, indented from it by half a meter and deepening under it by half a meter;
arrange a drainage cushion as described above;
make a spatial frame of reinforcement of at least 10 - 14 mm with a connection to the existing foundation by drilling it;
concreted to a height slightly below ground level.

And here is the video. It is somewhat long, but informative, and most importantly: everything is done without errors.

Fixing cracks in a wall after a foundation repair

After strengthening the foundation or tying the base, the crack in the wall must be repaired. If it is small, you can use the method described above, as well as for sealing cracks in the foundation. And if it's too big, then:

fill the gap with a polymerized cement-sand mortar, you can tighten it with temporary (or permanent) screeds, filling the possible gap above the foundation with the same solution;

having driven the wall across the crack in several places, install hidden metal ties with pins into it deep into entire sections of the wall and seal it with the same polymer-cement-sand mortar.

Of course, it is better to eliminate the consequences of such a repair by combining it with finishing, or even insulating the facade of the house.

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Sometimes cracks form in the foundation of a house. And the owners of the building quite reasonably begin to wonder what to do in a similar situation. Not in all cases, a burst foundation negatively affects the integrity of the building. But in most situations, repairing it will not be superfluous at all. Even if the cracks are still very small - hair.

What causes cracks in the base

If the foundation of the house cracked for some reason, it is recommended to repair the crack immediately. After all, if you do not eliminate the problem at the stage of its occurrence, the consequences can be the most undesirable. At best, windows and doors will begin to jam, and at worst, the crack will move to the wall of the building, and the latter will collapse in the shortest possible time.

To avoid problems, the first thing to do is to determine the type of crack. To do this, the crack should be thoroughly cleaned of accumulated dirt and dust and rinsed with water. After that, it is necessary to prepare a gypsum beacon. The date is applied to it when the foundation cracked (or when it was first noticed). The lighthouse is installed in a crack and observation begins. The behavior of the problematic area of the foundation should be observed over a sufficiently long period of time. If the beacon remains intact as a result, it means that the foundation did not crack through and through and the crack does not pose a great danger. For purely aesthetic reasons, it can be repaired with cement mortar and forget about the problem.

The beacon will also help to monitor whether the place of the foundation rupture is increasing. If this happens, then the foundation has cracked through and through, and something should be done immediately.

Most often, the foundation of the house begins to crack in the winter or spring periods. So, if the foundation of the house is installed incorrectly, in winter it will inevitably begin to rise unevenly, and in the spring it will also settle unevenly. For some period of time, the structure will successfully endure such overloads, but after a few years a vertical or horizontal crack will definitely appear.

Causes of base cracking

If the foundation of a brick or wooden house has cracked, you should figure out why this happened. There can be many reasons for cracking the base:

Technological reasons

The foundation that burst due to technical reasons was most likely incorrectly filled during the laying process. Another reason for the appearance of cracks can be incorrectly mounted formwork, deep freezing of concrete in winter, insufficient amount of used reinforcement, and much more.

Operational reasons

If the foundation suddenly cracked for an operational reason, most likely this happened due to the superstructure of the building. But in some cases, the bursting arch of the base is due to the lack of a drainage system around the house and an increase in the level of humidity in the basement.

Structural reasons

How to strengthen the foundation of a building

If you do not know how to strengthen the base of the building and what to do so that even hairline cracks do not appear on it, some useful tips are unlikely to be redundant.

Often, to strengthen the base of the house, the injection method is used using synthetic resin or ordinary cement.

To implement this method, it is necessary to drill a hole in the body of the foundation, the diameter of which is about 30 mm and keep a distance of about 0.5 m. The depth of the hole should be chosen depending on the size of the protective layer. The injector is immersed in the resulting wells and the space is filled with a solution under pressure. If there is a need to identify weakly bearing soils under the foundation of the house, it is additionally necessary to cement the soil under the foundation.

Elimination of gaps in pile foundations

Strengthening pile foundations and preventing their cracking is often done by converting from a pile foundation to a strip one. To carry out such an operation, concrete jumpers are installed. In some cases, such jumpers must be made to the full height of the base of the structure. This makes it possible in the foreseeable future to equip the basement without unnecessary difficulties.

Elimination of gaps in strip bases

If the strip foundation cracked, in order to repair it, you will need to apply a whole range of restoration methods. In this case, it will not be enough to seal the cracked area with cement mortar, since this step will not solve the problem. It would be more expedient to strengthen the base with bored-type piles, the soil - with a drainage system and the arrangement of a heat-insulating blind area.

Piles, installed under the sole of the foundation of the house in the form of a support, reliably keep the foundation tape from subsidence. As for drainage, if everything is done correctly, it will contribute to an increase in the depth of freezing of the soil and thereby prevent the base from sinking over time.

Cracking can also be avoided by screeding the strip masonry. This technology uses the introduction of two special crutches directly into the body of the plinth, which are connected to each other by means of a clamp. This design works both as a screed and as a shock-absorbing element. In this case, the crack can be repaired directly with a concrete solution or strengthened with epoxy.

After the blind area, support or screed is installed, it is necessary to use a marker mark (flag), which will allow you to fix the condition of the cracked area. To do this, along the edges of the fault, you will need to attach a certain amount of epoxy resin, onto which an ordinary wire is pulled. If the thread does not break during the change of seasons, and the foundation of the house does not continue to sag, then the destructive process has been successfully prevented.

Elimination of slab break

If you need to close up a gap in the slab foundation, you should be prepared for the fact that the work ahead is dreary. The only good news is that this will have to be done only in an exceptional case, since the plates crack very rarely. But if the rupture of the plate did occur, a complete or partial replacement of the base will be required.

Long-term practice clearly demonstrates the fact that it is not possible to stop the destruction of the plate. Therefore, it will be necessary to dig under the slab, strengthen in those places where the split occurred, remove the damaged parts and re-fill the damaged area and mount pile or block supports.

Unfortunately, even such manipulations cannot give a 100% guarantee that the plate will not continue to collapse. Therefore, in some cases, it may be necessary to rebuild the house again.

Thus, it turns out that it is much easier to avoid the occurrence of base breaks than to deal with them.

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Cracks in the walls of buildings can appear suddenly, and not only in old houses, but also in new buildings, panel and brick. This, of course, is not the norm, but you should not panic about this. It is better to assess the scale and understand how dangerous the destruction is in order to determine how to eliminate it.

All cracks are divided into two types:

Passive - if the cracking occurred at once, and does not go further, in this case, you can eliminate the defect yourself;
Active - if a crack in the wall of the house expands or lengthens over time, there is a risk of collapse of the wall or building, in this case, you need to call specialists from the specialized service, who will make a decision.

There are dozens of reasons for which the deformation of the building occurs, and as a result, the manifestation of faults, serious, or "cobwebs". They are caused by various factors, but the most common is problems with the foundation. It is also the most dangerous and difficult, since in some cases it is necessary to redo everything anew, or somehow strengthen the base, and this is often not easy.

So, we understand in detail why cracks appear on the walls in various buildings, is it worth worrying, and how to fix them.

Why are wall cracks so common in new homes?

Cracking of new buildings is a fairly common phenomenon. 9 out of 10 houses may crack after a few years due to shrinkage, but as a rule, cracks in the walls in a new house are small and passive, and after sealing there are no problems.

Experts do not recommend making major repairs in the first year and a half, and if your apartment is located on the lower floors, and many will do repairs from above, you should wait a little longer. The fact is that all the neighbors from above will “add” the weight of the structure with plaster and decoration, which means that the house will shrink even more noticeably. Small cracks in the walls in a new home may not seem like a big deal, but they can lead to tiles falling off, wallpaper warping, and similar problems. Better to wait with the finish than to redo it all over again. In addition, a small "cobweb" under the wallpaper will not be noticeable, but it is advisable to patch it up as soon as it appears.

Why did a crack appear in the wall of a house that no longer shrinks?

In more lived-in and seemingly strong houses, cracks can appear quite unexpectedly, and usually they are the ones that frighten residents the most. The reasons in this case can be very different.

Violation of construction technology, in which the dressing of the masonry of a brick wall was incorrectly performed. For many years everything is in order, and then a fault appears, which is also difficult to repair.
Violation of the technology of laying communications. It happens that a house is built first, and then communications are brought in, as a result of which they dig in the foundation - this is one of the common causes of horizontal cracks in the wall.
The foundation can settle on its own, for example, due to an incorrectly calculated load or insufficiently competent design without specialized calculations. Owners of private houses often suffer from this, who do not conduct geodetic surveys, do not study the features of the soil, and choose the wrong type of foundation. The causes of cracks in the walls can also include improperly laid sand under the foundation, or groundwater unaccounted for during construction.

Why did a crack go along the wall of the old house?

In old houses that have stood for decades without problems, sudden cracking can occur due to new construction going on nearby, excavation of a foundation pit nearby, vibrations during the installation of piles or re-laying of the road. Often problems arise from poor, ill-conceived redevelopment, when the new owner demolishes load-bearing supports, or illegal construction of basements and subfloors, as a result of which the load is shifted and the foundation suffers. A crack in the outer wall of the house also occurs due to the fact that the mortar can crumble over time, and if floors were attached to the house, or it was lengthened, the problem could become critical.

The problem with a crack in the load-bearing wall at the base of the building

Another common answer to the question of why cracks appear on the walls is ill-conceived redevelopment, especially on the basement and first floors. This happens when residential apartments are transferred to a non-residential fund, arranging shops or service establishments, and at the same time, load-bearing walls are touched. The load on the remaining ones is greater, and the house is being destroyed from the inside, and the residents of the upper floors are usually the first to notice the problem.

Usually it is not possible to resolve the issue with the owners of the premises, therefore, if there are cracks on the internal walls, and at the same time there are offices or retail premises below, it is necessary to contact the relevant authorities to check the condition of the building.

Types of cracks in the walls

You can try to determine the cause of cracking yourself, focusing on the direction of the fault: vertical, horizontal, in the corner. In brick walls, the direction may be broken, but the general trend is usually observed.

vertical cracks. In the middle part of the building, thermal deformation can occur if there is a problem with expansion joints. In places of supports and beams - due to overloading of the walls (this is very dangerous). The reason may be an unstable foundation, as a result of which one part of the building settles in a different way.
Horizontal cracks on the wall of the house can be caused by subsidence of the foundation in its central part, and moisture ingress into the walls and foundation. They are less dangerous for the building as a whole, but it is necessary to check the quality of the insulation. The causes of horizontal cracks in the wall are usually less dangerous, and the building collapses more slowly than with vertical ones. But it is also more difficult to fasten the structure, and serious measures may be required to correct the situation.
In the corner of the wall, destruction can occur due to flooding of the foundation, as often happens when moisture drips from the roof into this corner. Microcracks are generally not dangerous, although they are more difficult to repair.

In any case, if there is a crack in the wall of the house, you should call in specialists who will determine the cause and extent of the problem.

What cracks in the walls of the house are dangerous

A small web of cracks is usually not dangerous, no matter where it is located. But in any case, it is better to control this process.

To determine the danger, that is, the future divergence of the wall, various beacons are used. In domestic conditions, to control a wall crack inside the house, you can use paper or plaster, which are superimposed on the fault at its different ends, possibly in the middle. If the line is broken, you will need to apply beacons to all sections. Be sure to write down the installation date next to it.

It happens that it is not possible to install a beacon on the outer wall on your own if the fault occurs on high floors. In addition, gypsum and paper simply cannot withstand the weather, and a gypsum beacon is generally capable of cracking from temperature changes. There are other options for beacons that profile specialists have and are suitable for outdoor monitoring.

If for 8-12 months the crack in the outer wall of the house or inside it has not changed and has not increased, it can be considered passive, stable, and repaired.
If the beacon is deformed or destroyed, be sure to call the experts, this means that the process is active, and you need to take action.

Crack in the wall of the house: what to do and how to fix

There are many ways to solve the problem, and the choice of a particular one depends on the characteristics of the fault and its development.

Keep in mind: if a large crack in the wall diverges quickly and the beacons collapse, you are unlikely to cope on your own, you may have to fasten the house with metal plates, raise the building to adjust the foundation, strengthen it, put props instead of load-bearing walls, etc.

Crack in outer wall

Small stable cracks are cleaned of plaster and finish, a deep penetration primer is applied, and the entire crack is covered with a putty mesh so that it reliably covers the edges. Putty is applied on top, better reinforced, as it will withstand temperature changes and exposure to weather conditions.

Cracks in the brick are sealed with a metal mesh for plaster, which is fixed with bolts. A layer of mortar (cement + sand) is applied to it.

A large crack in the wall is filled with mounting foam, while first it needs to be expanded and cleaned, possibly rinsed with water and dried so that more solution gets inside. There are various nozzles for cylinders, so that even complex bends can be repaired.

Faults in concrete are also cleaned, blown out with mounting foam and sealed with a cement-sand mixture.

Crack in the corner of the wall

It especially often occurs at the joints of the plates, and if this is the corner of the house, then it can noticeably blow from it. It is sealed either with mounting foam and then plastered, or a system of metal plates is used, the whole house can be pulled together if the problem is serious, or part of it.

In multi-storey buildings, you have to do everything from the inside, or order insulation along with sealing cracks. If the fault is large, it must be deepened and cleaned with high quality, preferably with a construction vacuum cleaner, or at least with a brush, and the foam is applied to the primer that has not yet dried.

Cracked walls inside the house

A small cobweb, which was formed due to the shrinkage of the new building, can be easily covered up: you will need a putty mesh and a deep penetration primer. A primer is applied to the cleaned wall with the coating removed, covered with a mesh, and sealed with putty. Then, after drying, the surface can be rubbed and painted, or wallpapered. It is better to wait a bit to make sure that the problem does not reoccur.

If a crack has gone along the wall of a concrete house, it needs to be expanded by creating angles at 45 degrees, and well primed. Sealing is carried out either with concrete mortar or sealant. Sealant fits better, as it is a little "rubber", which means that future movements will be compensated and the crack will not expand. Do not use a silicone-based sealant, as nothing sticks to it, and then it will be difficult to paint over or wallpaper it. A crack in the wall of the house can also be repaired with any cement-based mixtures, such as tile adhesive, or plaster. You can use an emulsion to which cement is added, or there is an even more budgetary option - PVA glue and cement. You can apply such a mixture with a spatula, and special guns are used for sealant to help squeeze it out of the tube. The rest of the mixture is removed with a spatula flush with the wall.

Cracks in a drywall wall are usually caused by excess moisture, dampness, or improper installation. If flooding occurs, the sheets need to be changed, in other cases, you can save the situation with a special putty for drywall, or use acrylic (sold in the same tubes as sealant). Another option is to stick fiberglass, it is more reliable, although more expensive and labor-intensive. All these methods can be used only in the case of high-quality fastening of the drywall sheet to the wall, if it does not stagger, otherwise the sheet itself needs to be changed.

Vertical and horizontal cracks on the wall of a brick house are sealed in various ways, depending on the depth and nature of the fault. In any case, if the crack is active, it makes no sense to close it in simple ways, since it will continue to grow. Repair only makes sense when the fault has stopped and has been stable for several months. Small cracks on the inner walls of brick are sealed with cement mortar, but if the crack is more than 7-10 mm, it is necessary to expand it with a hammer (for better adhesion of the mortar) and seal it with a mixture of cement and sand. A crack larger than 10mm requires professional intervention, whether it is expanding or not.

Crack in the wall of the house: what to do if the wall is load-bearing?

You can close the faults yourself only if the crack is small and does not expand. In this case, the same technologies are used as when repairing small damages in a brick wall. But it is important to understand that a break in the load-bearing wall can lead to the collapse of the entire building, so you should contact the experts. They will check the condition of the building and find out why the cracks in the wall appeared at all: perhaps the neighbors did a redevelopment somewhere, or something happened in the basement of the building, and it is urgent to strengthen it, pump out water, raise the roof and reduce the load.

A crack in a load-bearing wall is always very dangerous, so it's not worth delaying with it, especially if it is active and expanding. It is possible to identify a dangerous fault already in a day or two, by placing a simple plaster or paper beacon, and checking its safety and absence of deformation. In any case, it's better to play it safe.

Through cracks in the walls

The most dangerous type of cracking, in which the building can be recognized as emergency. There are many reasons for this phenomenon, but most often - problems with the foundation or extension, or ongoing construction work nearby.

To seal through cracks in the walls, lime-cement mortar is used, if the fault is large, brick fragments can be added to it. Formwork may be needed to fix the solution until it is completely solidified.

Sometimes tightening with metal plates made of durable material is used, and at least three strips are needed, sometimes more. Fix them with bolts with dowels. After fixing, a specialist’s decision is required - if a crack appears in the wall of the house, then the problem is already quite serious. From the inside, the fault can be repaired with mounting foam, but in any case, the cause must be eliminated.

Conclusion

If a crack appears in the wall of the house, assess its scale and danger, visually (in the case of “spider web” cracks) or with the help of a beacon. Various materials and technologies are used to seal different types of walls, but if the crack grows or is large in itself, it is better to consult with specialists. Minor repairs can be carried out independently, but only if the fault is stable and there are no prerequisites to believe that later cracks in the walls of buildings can lead to an emergency.

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Cracks in the house - causes, methods of elimination

A crack can appear on the wall of the house at any time, 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 you will have to involve professionals in the work. But first you need to understand what factors provoke the appearance of cracks.

Table of contents: Causes of cracks in the house How to determine the level of danger of cracks in the house Methods for eliminating cracks in the house - How to fix a crack in the house from the inside - Eliminating a crack in the house from the outside of the wall What to do if the crack in the house diverges Prevention of cracks in the house

Causes of cracks in the house

It is believed that in the first five years after building 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 - the house has been for many years, it is quite habitable, 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 erecting the walls themselves. For example, if the dressing of brickwork was carried out incorrectly.

Secondly, the phenomenon under consideration on the walls of the house may be caused by non-compliance with the sequence of construction work. For example, communication systems (water supply, sewerage) are often carried out after the construction of the house - you have to dig the foundation, which negatively affects its quality characteristics.

Thirdly, foundation settlement often occurs - for example, due to compression of the foundation soils or too much pressure on the foundation of the house. 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 soil resistance taken as a basis was erroneous, greatly overestimated;
geodetic surveys at the 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;
no calculations were made of the depth of the foundation base, its thickness - usually data on past construction sites are taken as the basis for these parameters;
violations of the technology of laying a sand cushion under the foundation - for example, insufficient layer thickness or poor-quality sand compaction.

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

When even a small crack is found, 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 put special control beacons - lamellar, which must be registered with the supervisory authorities. At home, with an independent solution to the problem, you can use one of the following methods:

stick a strip of paper on the crack indicating the date of installation;
prepare a gypsum mortar and put a strip of it on the crack.

And then it remains only 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 it is necessary to control the crack 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 complex technical solutions will need to be applied to fix 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 are eliminated in certain ways - you must first determine the level of the problem.

Please note: if the control beacon showed a rapidly expanding crack, then no do-it-yourself crack repair methods 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 the house from the inside

If small cracks are found on the wall inside the house, then fixing them is easy. 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, finishes - the wall should turn out perfectly clean;
we use a deep penetration primer (with such a marking!) - we cover the entire cleaned surface;
glue the putty mesh on the entire prepared surface;

Please note: it is necessary to close the entire damage area on the wall with a special mesh - even small sections of cracks should not protrude beyond it.

We apply a small layer of putty on the grid and leave it to dry completely.

Only after the putty layer has completely dried, you can start grouting the surface and gluing wallpaper or other finishing materials.

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

In the event of the appearance of small cracks outside the house, you should proceed according to the same principle as in the above option. Procedure:

the place of the crack is cleaned from plaster or debris;
we apply a layer of deep penetration primer and glue a putty mesh on it;
put putty on. But! In case of repairing a crack on the outer walls, it is advisable to use a special reinforced putty - it is resistant to the negative effects of atmospheric changes.

If the cracks on the outer side of the walls of the house went not only through the plaster, but also spread to the brickwork, then much more effort will have to be made. And in this case, the algorithm of actions will be as follows:

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

This situation means only one thing - it is urgent to take drastic measures to eliminate such a problem. If you ignore all the recommendations of specialists, limit yourself only to the above repair options, then the result will be the collapse of the whole 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:

All plaster from 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.
The crack is cleaned of mortar and dirt - this can be done with a metal spatula.
The cleaned crack is filled with mounting foam.
Fastening metal plates that will tighten the crack, preventing it from spreading further. In doing so, the following points must be taken into account:

the plate must be chosen from a 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 4 or 5 metal plates may be needed;
plates are fastened with self-tapping screws, but with the use of dowels.

After applying the fastening metal plates, you can continue to work 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 corrective work on the foundation - it is either strengthened / strengthened, or the walls / roof of the house are raised and the base is completely replaced.

Prevention of cracks in the house

In order not to have to deal with cracks in the house, you should familiarize yourself with the prevention of such a phenomenon.

Firstly, if only a house is being designed, several points must be taken into account:

conducting geodetic surveys should be mandatory - this will help determine the type of soil, the location of the aquifers, the depth of the groundwater;
even at the stage of drafting the project, it is necessary to provide for the possibility of building a subfloor / cellar under the house - this will entail serious structural changes;
be sure to familiarize yourself with the depth of freezing of the soil - 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 - often serious problems in the stability / reliability of the entire structure are hidden behind the small size of the cracks. Another point - there should be a blind area around the whole house - this will prevent moisture from entering the foundation, and therefore, will serve as a prevention of its destruction.

Thirdly, if there is a desire to complete the second floor to an already inhabited house, it is worth consulting with professionals about the appropriateness of such actions. The fact is that each foundation is designed for a certain load and its excess leads to the appearance of cracks.

Cracks in the house are not a reason for panic, but just an impetus to action. Even an absolute beginner in the construction business will cope with the above work, but it is much easier to prevent the appearance of cracks in advance.

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"diagnosis" of the problem and solutions

The cracks that appeared on the walls are perhaps the most obvious indicator of the developer's miscalculations. In this case, the seriousness of the situation is obvious even to those who are far from construction. What are the reasons for the deformation of brick walls and what should the owner of the house do in this case?

Let's start with the fact that not every gap in the coating of brick walls is a threat to their strength and bearing capacity. Immediately after construction, the house "shrinks": this is a normal process that can lead to minor (1-3 mm) cracks.

These are surface cracks that do not increase with time. In this case, you need to wait until the end of the shrinkage of the house and carry out cosmetic repairs. Much more dangerous are through cracks that are visible from the outside of the building.

In such a situation, urgent action is needed. To determine the repair technology, you must first understand the cause of the appearance of gaps in the wall. They can be divided into five groups:

Laying errors: insufficient bond between bricks

It appears as a vertical gap along the entire height of the wall.

Such a problem is most often encountered when the dressing rules are violated during the construction of a brick house, as well as when building an extension to a building whose shrinkage has already ended.

Wrong choice of materials

This may be the use of masonry mortars with a high ash content, as well as the use of non-standard materials in the arrangement of the reinforcing belt.

Design errors

Errors at the design stage of the project are one of the most common causes of cracks in brick walls. For example, an incorrect assessment of the load on walls and foundations leads to a decrease in structural rigidity, concentration of load from floors at certain points, uneven settlement and ruptures. Errors in calculations when designing a beam ceiling lead to the same result.

Errors in the arrangement of the foundation

The most serious problems with cracks in the walls arise from miscalculations made during the design and construction of the foundation. These include an increase in the number of storeys of a house, the foundation of which is not designed for such a load, the use of too “weak” concrete with insufficient frost resistance to fill the base. The cause of deformations can also be the use of cellular concrete during the installation of the foundation, the insufficient depth of its placement (below the freezing level of the soil), errors in the installation of the blind area, the location of the pit for draining sewage is too close to the foundation.

It is also necessary to mention the reasons that are difficult to predict in advance - this is a drain leakage that changes the state of the soil, the construction of a large facility near the house, strong vibration of the soil due to heavy vehicles.

Surface and through cracks: how to determine the type of deformation phenomenon?

Depending on the cause, cracks can behave differently - remain stable, grow at different rates, or “tear” the walls at once. Until you have determined the type of deformation and found out its cause, it is pointless to repair cracks.

"Diagnosing" in this case is not difficult. To do this, you need to use beacons from improvised material - glass or paper. For example, a strip of glass is attached across the crack with plaster.

Observation of the lighthouse will give an answer to the question of whether the crack is increasing or remains unchanged. For the same purpose, you can use a strip of paper, which is fixed with silicate glue, or apply a strip of plaster with a length of 10 cm, a width of 4 cm and a thickness of not more than 1 cm.

Beacons should be checked daily for 4-5 weeks. If they remain intact within the specified period, then the solution to the problem will be a low-cost repair of the wall. If the beacons burst, this means that the process of deformation of the wall continues, and its overhaul is required. Choosing a repair strategy.

Ways to strengthen brickwork

The determining factor in this case is the type and width of the gap.

Superficial, thin (up to 5 mm) and shallow tears. If we are talking about internal repairs, then gypsum-based solutions and putties can be used for this purpose. To seal cracks on the outside of the wall, you need to use moisture-resistant materials, for example, cement mortar. Before filling a crack with a mortar, it should be lined and wetted with water or a primer mixture;
Through cracks in the wall with a width of 10 mm or more. At a gap with a width of 10 mm or more, reinforcing the wall with a metal reinforcing mesh or simply sealing the crack with mortar will no longer be enough. In this case, a metal screed and interlocks can be used.

Dowels are inserted along the edges of the gap, into which T-shaped anchors are hammered. Another method recommended for repairing deformations outside the wall is to drill holes along the edges of the gap and install steel staples into these holes, which are then coated with a cement mixture.

The described types of repair involve solving the problem at an average cost of time and labor. If the reason for the appearance of cracks is problems with the foundation, then the repair of the crack should be preceded by restoring the integrity of the foundation of the house: this is a more complex and time-consuming type of work. If this is not done, then the process of deformation of the wall cannot be stopped.

Repair of the foundation in this case includes an increase in the area of \u200b\u200bits support on the ground and reinforcement.

The procedure includes the following types of work:

A trench is dug in the crack zone (width - 0.6 m, length - 1.5 m). The depth of the ditch should correspond to the freezing point of the soil. From under the foundation in this place, the soil is removed to the level of the bottom of the excavated trench - this is necessary so that the poured concrete mixture penetrates under the foundation;
Reinforcement is carried out using metal fittings (from 14 mm). Reinforcement rods (8-10 pieces) are stuck into the walls of the moat by 15-20 cm;
In the old foundation, holes are drilled for pieces of reinforcement, which are then welded to previously installed rods;
The ditch is filled with concrete mixture, after which it is treated with a vibrating tool to remove air and compact.

The number of such ditches and their location is determined by the results of inspection of deformations.

When placing several ditches in close proximity to each other, the ends of the reinforcement bars are welded together, which will strengthen the structure. After the concrete has hardened, you can begin to seal the crack.

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Cracks in the walls cause and effect

Cracks in the walls, to our great regret, are not uncommon, their presence is clearly observed on high-rise buildings, as well as on the walls of household buildings and residential buildings in the private sector.

Defects in the walls of high-rise buildings are dealt with by specialized public utilities, as this is a responsible and rather expensive undertaking. In this article on the site "Our House and Yard" we will consider the causes of cracks in houses and buildings of a private, low-rise sector.

With a high degree of probability, it can be argued that there are no houses without cracks. After all, cracks are formed not only from shortcomings and defects during construction, but also from the natural shrinkage of the structure, and even from its aging.

Cracks in the walls

The main and most common reason for the formation of cracks on the walls of low-rise buildings is a consequence of uneven sedimentation or destruction of the foundation. This happens for a number of rather different reasons, which we will discuss below.

Causes of cracks

Small (insufficient) depth of foundation: quite common in old buildings, can lead to the mobility of the soil under the foundation due to heaving or other reasons.

Exceeding the calculated load on the ground: this usually happens when you want to save money by making the foundation too narrow on moving ground.

When pouring the foundation, low-quality building materials were used: low-quality concrete or gravel that does not match the strength or resistance to aggressive environments. The brand of concrete used for the manufacture of such structures should not be less than M 200.

All of the above reasons can be attributed to the violation of technology during the construction of the foundation. But there are other reasons that can not always be taken into account:

unpredictable rise in groundwater levels;
soil heterogeneity under the foundation;
destruction of the foundation body from time to time;
the slope of the site on which the building stands;
weather and geological factors also contribute to the formation of cracks in the walls.

Violation of the integrity or lack of a blind area around the house can also be the cause of cracks in the walls of the house. In this case, non-monolithic or non-reinforced foundations suffer more, which are more prone to uneven shrinkage.

Not the last role is played by the quality of the building material of the walls themselves, namely its behavior under the influence of external factors and loads: swelling, shrinkage, as well as vibration, which can activate the occurrence of cracks. These factors can be: sun, rain, wind, and even the proximity of busy traffic.

Are wall cracks dangerous?

As a rule, most cracks, whether external or internal, do not pose a danger. Even in fairly old houses, whose age has exceeded 50 or even 100 years, fresh cracks may appear.

The reason for these processes can be - changes in the structure of the soil (due to increased humidity), construction work in the vicinity, or, as already mentioned, heavy traffic.

It is the same in new buildings: the appearance of cracks in the walls is not so uncommon. Usually, small cracks in the plaster or cladding of the building appear in the first years of operation. These processes are associated with the natural shrinkage of the structure and lasts, maybe from 3 to 5 years.

Such cracks are usually "calm", meaning they remain in the state they were found in and can simply be covered up cosmetically.

Of course, we must not forget the fact that cracks in the walls can be the result of quite serious problems: defects in construction or weakening of load-bearing elements. The latter occurs for various reasons, it may not be a professional redevelopment or restructuring of the building, or maybe a banal washing out of the soil.

If a vertical crack appears on the foundation, plinth and wall, growing in length and width, then everything is very serious, and simple cosmetic measures are indispensable here. Also, a cause for concern should be suddenly poorly closing windows and doors, a noticeable skew of the porch, and indeed the curvature and cracking of horizontal lines on the facade.

To determine the level of danger, you need to know how the crack behaves. It is quite simple to make such observations: a control strip of paper is glued onto the crack, but for more convenient observation, it is better to apply a plaster mark.

Such a palm-width mark, made of densely diluted gypsum, is applied to the crack and observed for 3-4 weeks. If the crack breaks the mark and continues to grow further, then drastic measures should be taken to prevent further damage.

Control marks made of paper and plaster.

If you are not an expert in construction, or you are afraid to do something wrong, then the easiest way is to contact a qualified specialist who will be able to analyze the causes and offer options for their elimination. But in some cases, you can do it yourself.

Causes and characteristic wall defects

Most serious problems arise due to several factors that, most likely, were not taken into account when building the foundation. Defects of this kind are expressed in the settlement of a part of the building, which leads to cracks in the outer or inner walls.

Most often, these are errors at the design stage during surveys - any external factors are not taken into account.

Seasonal changes in the soil: provoke subsidence, leaching and frost heaving, characteristic of a number of soils (clays, loams, dusty soils), as well as changes in the level of groundwater.

Incorrect or incomplete assessment of the strength of the foundation: the problem arises when filled-in pits (ditches), as well as rigid supports (natural or artificial boulders, concreted wells, etc.) are not identified in various sections of the trench or foundation pit.

Violations in the operation of the building: usually occur when flooding, and not rarely, washing out the base of the foundation with domestic or atmospheric waters (rupture of the sewer, water supply or destruction of the blind area).

Also, such design flaws as the omission of reinforcing inserts at the intersections of the walls, the absence of cross-links, insufficient rigidity of the longitudinal wall, and in some cases, a large thrust from the rafters can cause the wall to deviate from the vertical, and, accordingly, the cause of cracks in the walls.

dimon-dom.ru

A crack in a brick wall is a sign of uneven subsidence of the foundation

An unexpectedly opened crack in a brick wall of a newly built or built several years ago residential, public or industrial building is a signal indicating the occurrence of a pre-emergency situation, the causes of which must be found and, if possible, eliminated. A crack is the first sign of danger Cracks along the vertical and horizontal seams of the masonry walls of buildings arise not only in brick buildings: the construction of houses from gas silicate blocks, which has been very popular lately, can have the same problems. This means that defects of this kind have common roots that do not depend on the size and material of the stones from which the walls of a building or structure are lined. The small width of the crack opening does not affect the appearance of buildings and brick houses, photos of which can be viewed on our website, retain a strict geometry of the seams on their facades. However, when the width of the cracks exceeds 5 mm, such a defect becomes visible from afar. In addition to a negative visual impression, a crack is a conductor of cold, and water that gets into it and subsequently freezes can accelerate the destruction of the wall. Such deformations occur not only in multi-storey buildings; for manor-type houses, a crack in a brick wall is also a common occurrence.

It is very important, when you see the damage to the masonry, not to delay the determination of the causes of its occurrence and the way to eliminate it, but to contact the specialists. It is difficult to detect wall deformation in cases where a hinged facade system covering the surface of a brick wall is included in the projects of individual residential buildings, however, the most dangerous are through cracks that can be detected not only from the outside, but also from the inside. Causes of cracks in the wall wall deformations is uneven subsidence of foundations, which can be caused by:

unreliability or incompleteness of engineering-geological surveys. For example: a layer of weak soils was not found, the mechanical characteristics of which are insufficient to absorb the load from the building structures. Or: during field work, during the extraction of cores, a violation of their structure occurred, due to which the strength parameters of soils were incorrectly determined, which led to the subsidence of the structure.
initially incorrectly executed foundation or foundation. Here, there may be poor-quality waterproofing and drainage, which led to the soaking of the soil under the building, or a small area of the base of the foundation, due to which the load on the soil turned out to be more than permissible.
improper operation of engineering systems of the building. In this case, a crack in a brick wall may occur due to water or sewer leaks, followed by soil soaking.

There is a possibility of the appearance of groundwater on the site, which has changed its course due to new buildings that have arisen on its way. Such situations often arise during the development of large plots, when engineering and geological surveys are carried out not throughout the entire territory, but for each individual plot separately. In this case, there is a risk of changing the direction of groundwater movement in an unpredictable direction.
A crack appeared in the wall. But what to do? You should know what to do if a crack has already appeared in a brick wall. First of all, it is necessary to invite specialists who can find the causes of deformations and determine methods to prevent their further development. Also, from the moment cracks are discovered, cement marks should be installed on them: in 2-3 places along the length of the crack, make small rectangles of cement mortar with a thickness of several millimeters in order to understand whether the deformation is continuing or has already stopped. If the stamps remain intact for 2-3 weeks, then, most likely, the subsidence has ended and you need to think about how to repair the cracks in order to preserve the appearance of the house and prevent the wall from freezing in this place. If the marks are cracked, then the deformations continue, and serious, expensive measures will have to be developed and carried out, including the possible strengthening of walls and foundations. Most often, the following measures are recommended to exclude the possibility of further soaking of the base soils:

installation of reinforced gluing waterproofing of the foundation and basement walls. To do this, you can use various deposited roll materials offered by the distribution network in a wide range.
repair and increase in the width of the blind area, as well as the installation of a drainage system around the perimeter of the building, which will prevent the soaking of the foundation soils with rain and melt water.
revision and repair of joints of pipelines passing in the basement of the house and next to it.

If these measures are not enough, then the foundation will have to be strengthened. One of the most effective methods of strengthening is the installation of inclined piles, which are brought under the foundation of the finished house and transfer the loads from its weight to the soil with the necessary strength characteristics. After performing work to eliminate the causes of subsidence and prevent the possibility of its occurrence in the future, the crack in the brick wall can be sealed to the full depth.

postroika.biz

Cracks in the walls are one of the most terrible structural defects, indicating that the load-bearing elements began to move. There are 3 main causes of cracks in the walls that cause this - collapse, blockage, or separation of the extension.

The deviation of the walls outward from the vertical plane is considered to be collapse. Wave-like deformation or deviation over the entire plane is also possible. Often, cracks form over windows and doors during collapse.

The breakdown in terms of coverage can be complete or partial. For prevention, a screed is used, which should be applied around the perimeter of the entire house, in order to avoid the mobility of other walls.

Conventionally, three types of collapses can be distinguished: light, medium and strong.

Easy collapse

With a slight collapse, deformations are noticeable on the walls, a third of the height of the wall itself. In every second case, cracks appear at the corners of the openings.

The main causes of cracks in the walls:

Complete absence or weakness of the armored belt;

Roof overloads;

Construction on the old walls of attics.

The most effective means of struggle is a steel mono-clip mounted on corner-type supports. Required tools:

4 meters of steel corner;

Meter pipe diameter inch;

4 meters of studs, 20mm thread, as well as nuts and washers for them;

20 mm steel bar, located around the perimeter of the building;

Welding machine, paint.

Important! It is undesirable to use reinforcement, due to its unsuitability and susceptibility to corrosion.

To the corner, the length of which should be 20% greater than the distance from the top of the wall to the top of the windows, 150 mm pipe sections are welded. In total, such stops must be made 4.

Mounting order:

By welding the rods, whips are obtained for each wall, leaving a gap of 20 cm for tightening;

Studs must be welded to each end of the whip, with a free end length of 20 cm;

The studs are placed in tubes, the lashes are welded together;

Assembly of the entire frame on the ground and subsequent fixation of the height;

Nuts are tightened.

Important! Do not forget that such a design will only hold the wall. No need to try to use it to return the wall to its original position.

Average camber

Signs are similar to mild collapse, but extend to half the height of the walls. Cracks above the openings appear in every 4 out of 5 cases.

The main reasons are a weakened armored belt, overloads, a weak bunch of corners.

For protection, a solid corner clip is used, similar to a mono clip. However, it extends to the entire height of the wall, and also includes three screed belts at once.

As an alternative to a circle, a 10x40mm steel strip can be used.

Important! Due to the high expected load, welds must be made with the highest quality.

strong collapse

It is characterized by the signs of the two previous types, but with a doubled level. Deep cracks may appear on the wall or foundation.

The main reason is the deformed base in combination with the signs characteristic of other collapses.

Repair is carried out by mounting the corner holder in conjunction with a support or a complete support belt.

The support should have half the thickness of the foundation layer, however, this value should exceed 400mm. It is desirable that they are in the same horizontal plane. At the same time, a third of the length of the backwater should be underground.

Mounting order:

It is necessary to clean the foundation in the damaged area;

In its wall, 18 mm are made with a depth and a step of 200 mm;

16 mm pins are driven into these holes, the length of which is 160 mm greater than the thickness of the retaining wall;

Reinforcement is attached to the pins;

U-shaped clamps are made from it, corresponding in size to the base of the beam;

Formwork is mounted;

The compacted concrete is laid;

After 72 hours, the formwork is dismantled, a waterproofing layer is applied instead;

The foundation is covered with soil.

In this case, the walls completely or partially fall into the inside of the building.

Full blockage

The main sign is the blockage of three or more walls inside the building.

The main reasons are the weakness of the armored belt, violations in the construction process.

To counteract the complete blockage of the walls, a self-supporting steel clip is used, which has a through fastening.

Required materials and tools:

Installation sequence:

We calculate the perimeter of the walls requiring reinforcement;

We break the wall into sections with a step of about 600-700mm, indent from the corner - half a step;

We use a puncher for drilling through holes;

Reinforcement is welded onto the plates at a right angle, 100 mm longer than the thickness of the walls;

Anchors are inserted into the drilled holes with the plate outward;

We carry out the marking of the channel for the holes;

Using welding, we make a hole in the channel for the reinforcement;

We prime the outer side of the channel;

We mount it to the pins;

We carry out scalding of pins;

The continuation of the channel is mounted in a similar way;

After installation along the entire perimeter, the channel is welded at the joint. On top of it we place linings from reinforcement;

We are working on strengthening the corners.

For additional protection of the cage, a false ceiling can be used, otherwise the tire is closed with a box.

Partial blockage

It is observed when one or two walls collapse. Occurs due to excessive proximity to a street with heavy traffic, or due to erosion by precipitation.

For elimination, a partial clip is used, which is made in a manner similar to a solid one. The length of the interrupted corner is calculated as 1/3 of the wall if this value exceeds one and a half meters.

Annex branch

The main symptom is a crack in the wall that appeared at the junction of the extension, which is accompanied by a collapse of a medium or strong degree.

In most cases, this situation occurs due to the fact that the extension is not attached to the wall of the main building.

To fix the problem, you should use a combination of a retaining wall and a through, semi-through or anchor clip.

To equip any of the presented types of clips, you can use the above tips.

stroim.club

Repair cracks in brick walls, how to get rid of cracks, photo video

The very first question that comes to mind is “What to do if a brick wall cracked?”

Why does a brick crack and how can cracks be repaired in a brick wall, as well as similar brickwork? These questions need to be considered from many angles. So let's get started.

Types and causes of crack formation

Builders - specialists share the cracks among themselves in brickwork according to the following criteria:

Because of what they appear: deformation of the structure of the house, shrinkage or thermal wear of a residential building;
External and internal view of the destruction itself on the wall: Split, tear, cut;
Destruction direction: horizontal, vertical, inclined at various angles;
Shape: curved, straight, closed or torn in half (that is, it almost does not reach the edge of the load-bearing wall).
Size and depth: on the surface of the wall and inside it;
How difficult is the repair work, what is the risk of wall destruction: dangerous and non-dangerous;
Time since destruction: stable or unstable;
The size of the opening of the split or crack itself: microscopic (up to one millimeter), small (up to three millimeters), medium (from four to eight millimeters), large (more than ten millimeters), very large (from fifteen millimeters or more).

A few main reasons for the appearance of such destruction on the wall, which, by the way, are quite a lot:

Settling or destruction of the soil itself. This problem can be caused by uneven natural burning of the soil (its strong and weak sections), incorrect and unacceptable load of the main foundation, leakage into the soil of a very large amount of runoff, as well as polluted water. It is these reasons that can lead to the appearance of large indirect splits or to the formation of vertical cracks that can reach right up to the edge of the load-bearing wall, and so on.
Strong hardening of the soil on which the house stands. A similar phenomenon can cause severe frosts, which can cause an uneven rise in the foundation. In particular, hardening of the ground is very dangerous for a building that has not yet been completed, the walls of which have not yet hardened and have not acquired the necessary stability. Specifically, in this case, uneven and deep cracks can form near the walls, and when the soil begins to thaw after the winter, it is more likely that the opposite process may occur - the foundation will settle, which can lead to new damage to the bearing walls.
A new repair for a load-bearing wall may be needed after the addition of a small building or room, as the foundation may not withstand the new, additional weight and settle.
Uneven and unstable loads on the foundation of the house. For example, if a house is built in Art Nouveau style, then luxurious and long glazing (which is very often used in this architectural style) can often alternate with small blind areas of the house, which will lead to a large difference in weight and ground settlement.
If the pit is located next to the building, then very high temperature conditions also adversely affect the soil, which in the future can lead not only to soil settlement, but also to its excessive looseness. It is for these reasons that medium-sized cracks can form on the walls.
Extra load due to neighboring houses. On a common foundation, the zones of greatest stress overlap each other and allow the soil to settle very strongly.
The reasons can be not only in the soil itself, but also above it. For example, the collection of heavy building material in large quantities next to an unfinished building and already in the ground itself, additional loads and stresses may appear, and it is they who can cause a very strong external settlement of the foundation and the appearance of large cracks and splits.
Permanent impact on the foundation. For example, if you drive piles on the territory of a residential building, constantly move heavy vehicles, compressors work - all this leads to drowning of sandy soil and a strong softening of clay masses in the soil. In the aggregate of all these factors, you can get soil settlement and cracks on load-bearing walls.
Exposure to high temperatures can cause vertical cracks and splits to form on the walls of your home. Filling cracks in masonry is mainly required for longer buildings that do not have expansion joints.
Reloading masonry. In this case, cracks can appear between the walls and on the pillars. Such cracks can be identified by the characteristic closedness and verticality of their direction. Overloading masonry. Appear in piers and on pillars. A characteristic feature of crush cracks is closedness and vertical direction.
Various non-hazardous shrinkage deformations can be observed on the plastered walls of the house - these can be small or small cracks that are very randomly scattered over the entire area of \u200b\u200bthe wall and are mostly closed, and most importantly, they do not reach the edge of the wall. They appear due to shrinkage of too thick plaster mortar.

Crack Filling Technology

There are many ways to close a crack in brickwork:

You can install a brick castle or a castle with an anchor;
Strengthening walls with tension bolts;
Repair of a through crack with steel staples;
Carry out repair work in the place of unlocking the floor slab;
Strengthen the cracked wall;
Make an overlay from hardened steel;
Install special brackets
Install a floor slab;
Cover the wall with a finishing layer.

See this video for more details:

Conclusion

The reasons for the appearance of defects, “ugliness” on the surface are different. It is naive to think that such a problem will not affect a person living in the private sector, who is looking at photos of design projects with interest, wondering how to ennoble his home, not noticing what is happening with the walls, not paying attention to their condition and appearance.

Houses age over time, groundwater undermines the foundation, making it shrink. Even a construction pit or earth-digging activities carried out nearby contribute to the emergence of problems, affecting the entire structure as a whole.

It is important not only to prevent the appearance of new cracks, but also to strive to repair old ones in time so as not to bring the house to a deplorable state.

Why defects appear

If we talk about global causes, then basically these are the clumsy hands of builders who erect the construction of a residential complex in the wrong place, do not take into account the properties and characteristics of the soil.

Cracks in a brick wall can appear with improper masonry, saving mortar and material. All the same "sides" and mistakes of specialists.

Based on the characteristics of the soil and the shortcomings of would-be designers, as well as the direct work on the erection of the building, the reasons for the appearance of dangerous gaps are as follows:

Developers violate the technology of laying the foundation, save on quality material, do their work in bad faith;
The soils on which the building is located are heterogeneous, do not differ in resistance;
Aggressive impact of underground sources (lakes, rivers, pools);
The foundation - ages, shrinks, over time - collapses.
Construction - skewed due to non-observance of the vertical and horizontal during the construction process;
Weak solution, improper dressing also lead to problems.
Redevelopment or extension was done without normal reinforcement.

Violators of construction technology most often do the following:

Bandaging is performed incorrectly;
Carry out incorrect repairs;
They dig trenches under the base when the building is completed;
Do not carry out waterproofing work and storm water;
Incorrectly select the structure and build the foundation;
They dig unplanned structures such as a basement (the foundation is not strengthened at the same time);
Part of the foundation sags after the pipes are laid.

All the shortcomings of the builders go sideways. Especially when the house was made at maximum speed using cheap building materials.

Poor quality cement, unsifted sea sand, weak reinforcement, the use of rubble stone in the construction of the foundation - and the whole structure may collapse over time. We will have to pay attention to cracks in a timely manner, to repair them with high quality in order to prevent a catastrophe.

Classification

According to the degree of surface destruction, all defects can be divided into:

Small ones that appear on the wall and ceiling. The crack needs to be slightly expanded, unstable areas removed so that new ones do not appear. Then the main events are carried out - wetting, priming, plastering.

Well visible on the inner surface. The main activities are cleaning, sealing using a reinforcing mesh to strengthen the walls from subsequent sprawl.

Significant sizes, for the most part - through. Slots are gradually foamed, foam is not allowed to creep over the edges.

Outside, defects are sealed with cement mortar, inside - with gypsum, followed by reinforcement and plastering. Foam should not be too much, so as not to get the opposite effect - expansion.

Beauty tool

For cosmetic events, regardless of the degree of complexity, you will need:

Putty knife;
A variety of gypsum and cement mixtures;
Metal brush;
Starting and finishing putty;
Glue having a cement base;
Mounting foam;
Self-adhesive tape;
Vacuum cleaner or thermal blower;
Finishing materials (wallpaper, tiles, paintwork, drywall, etc.).

How to fix

First of all, it is necessary to stop the process of crack expansion, to eliminate the cause of the walls spreading. It is not enough simply to plaster this situation. You may have to tie the entire structure with reinforcing belts, foam it, sheathe it with siding, and inside - reinforce it with a metal mesh and plaster it.

The situation is resolvable after a thorough strengthening of the foundation. When a house is in disrepair, it can collapse at any moment.

Deep surface splits allow moisture and cold to pass through, contribute to the formation of fungus and mold, and make the building uninhabitable. When they appear in load-bearing members, they show the severity of the building's destruction.

The detected defects do not always indicate the possible collapse of the structure, its accident rate. When they do not expand, cosmetic repairs, regular finishing, foaming, plastering are enough.

A crack, regardless of its depth and width, is always cleaned, they try to prevent its further spread by reinforcing the surface with a reinforcing mesh.

When defects with a split surface appear in an apartment of a multi-storey building, one cannot do without inspection and consultation of specialists. Only they can determine the severity of the damage, how the building is in disrepair, whether the residential complex is suitable for housing at all.

When things are very bad, deep cracks appear in the concrete wall, an act is drawn up, and the tenants are evicted.

The prevention and strengthening of the entire structure is important. The complexity of the work depends on the condition of the supporting structures. Sometimes you can't do without the help of specialists. Some defects can be corrected independently.