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Home & Garden Articles
Brick Repair Dallas
Thu 26 Apr 2007 - 10:50
Brick Repair Dallas
By James Nech
In this article I will explain the main reason there is so much cracked and broken brick and masonry siding on homes in the Dallas and Fort Worth area of Texas.
Unless a car or some other foreign object strikes your home the main reason for your brick or masonry siding to be cracked or broken is movement of your home's foundation. It is the foundation which supports the brick and any movement in the foundation will result in movement in the brick or masonry siding. Masonry being very brittle will immediately start to crack. The cracks start out as hairline cracks and become worse with time.
You may also find cracks in the drywall or sheetrock of inside walls and ceilings near the cracks on the exterior masonry walls.
So why does the foundation move? In almost all instances it is the soil which supports the foundation. The soil in the Dallas / Fort Worth area mostly clay based and is very expansive. What this means is that when it is dry it shrinks and when it is moist it expands.
Have you noticed how the cracks tend to get wider in the summer, when the soil is drier, and they tend to close up during the winter months when there is more precipitation.
There are other causes of brick damage such as exposure to the elements or other problems like sprinkler heads that are located too close to the home. Sprinklers can, by themselves erode the mortar joints and even the face of some brick.
But if you are seeing vertical cracks in your brick siding, more than likely you have some foundation movement.
Almost all foundations have some movement and the brick and masonry itself can move due to expansion and contraction caused by hot days and cool nights. In these instances the cracks will not be very wide.
If your problem is not very severe you can probably simply have the cracks repaired. At the time of repair it would also be a good idea to add some Expansion Control Joints to allow minimal movement to prevent re-cracking. Expansion Control Joints are a vertical gap in the wall, around 1/8 of an inch wide and filled with flexible caulk.
Most new homes in the Dallas and Fort Worth area are built with a liberal number of expansion joints.
If you have wide cracks, by wide I mean anything over 1/8 of an inch up to 1 inch and in some cases even more, you will need to talk to a foundation repair professional take whatever steps necessary to stop the foundation from moving.
James Nech is a Masonry Repair Contractor in the Dallas / Fort Worth area. His company has repaired thousands of homes restoring them to their original beauty. When he is not repairing Brickwork or other masonry he can be found talking or writing about it. For more articles on brick repair visit his website at http://www.alamomasonryrepair.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=James_Nech
http://EzineArticles.com/?Brick-Repair-Dallas&id=532719
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