Cracked brick

jonbeeza

jonbeeza

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Just noticed a small chunk of brick, on the floor outside the bedroom window of our bungalow. The brick has a crack down the middle of it, I did not notice this yesterday.
Would a chunk like that fall out on it's own, being a brick with a flaw in it for example?
 
There is a small crack in the mortar in the brick below. The chip that has come out is incidental to the the crack running vertically through the brick.

Examine all the bricks and mortar above and below this brick to see if and where this crack line continues.
It may be caused by the stresses of settlement, it takes considerable static force to crack a brick in half.
the least line of resistance is usually in the mortar where they meet the brick.

Measure the gap and make a note of it. Remeasure the gap in six months. If it has widened seek advice from a building surveyor.
Most likely it is nothing to be bothered about and can easily be remedied. However if left too long, weather can get in and make matters worse, or at the worst extreme it can be an early indication of larger scale settlement or ground heave. which could involve under pinning.

A majority of brick houses will have the odd cracked or flaked brick which indicates nothing at all except a faulty brick.

If there are no other indicators , measure it and keep watch for now.
If there is a corresponding crack in the plaster in the bedroom, then get it looked at now.
It looks like a relatively new build, so some minor settlement is common in the first few years.
 
Last edited:
Terrywoodenpic said:
Cheap bricks often flake not crack.
Click to expand...

Yes, I bought cheap bricks from B&Poo once upon a time and these turned out to be a flaking pest. Every winter sees more flakes fall off.
The OP's pics. shows a mortar crack and some separation a brick end face.

Terry's advice sounds the way to go.
 
Terrywoodenpic said:
There is a small crack in the mortar in the brick below. The chip that has come out is incidental to the the crack running vertically through the brick.

Examine all the bricks and mortar above and below this brick to see if and where this crack line continues.
It may be caused by the stresses of settlement, it takes considerable static force to crack a brick in half.
the least line of resistance is usually in the mortar where they meet the brick.

Measure the gap and make a note of it. Remeasure the gap in six months. If it has widened seek advice from a building surveyor.
Most likely it is nothing to be bothered about and can easily be remedied. However if left too long, weather can get in and make matters worse, or at the worst extreme it can be an early indication of larger scale settlement or ground heave. which could involve under pinning.

A majority of brick houses will have the odd cracked or flaked brick which indicates nothing at all except a faulty brick.

If there are no other indicators , measure it and keep watch for now.
If there is a corresponding crack in the plaster in the bedroom, then get it looked at now.
It looks like a relatively new build, so some minor settlement is common in the first few years.
Click to expand...

It is a housing association property, so luckily no expensive repair bill. I think it was built in the 60s or 70s, but not exactly sure when. They were build very shoddily, and other signs of plaster falling off, we have had some re plastered here and there.

So long as nobody has been trying to remove a brick to gain entry, but I am sure far easier to put the window in. Ahh, I should not be thinking these sort of thoughts. :eek:
 
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