Gap in brick cement

[OLTB]

Afternoon all

Myself and Mrs OLTB have just spotted a gap in between one of the bricks and cement of our porch. The porch must have been there for at least 14 years (when we moved in) and gets full sun in the afternoon. The gap is half a centimetre wide and is horizontal along the bottom of the brick, running into a more hairline crack around the corner of the porch for another couple of bricks. Does anyone know if we should just fill this in or is it worth getting a professional to look at it?

Cheers, OLTB (very incompetent handyman).

[Itsallaguess]

Afternoon all

Does anyone know if we should just fill this in or is it worth getting a professional to look at it?

You could get some non-professionals to take a look first..

Any chance of a photo?

Cheers,

Itsallaguess

[OLTB]

Afternoon all

Does anyone know if we should just fill this in or is it worth getting a professional to look at it?

You could get some non-professionals to take a look first..

Any chance of a photo?

Cheers,

Itsallaguess

That would be fantastic and just leaves me wondering how I upload an iPhone photo onto TLF...

Sorry for being a more incompetent IT dolt.

Cheers, OLTB.

[Mike4]

That would be fantastic and just leaves me wondering how I upload an iPhone photo onto TLF...

Sorry for being a more incompetent IT dolt.

Cheers, OLTB.

I expect like most, you have areas of expertise outside of IT. Don't beat yourself up over it.

An interesting question. As far as I know, the only way is to publish (upload) your photo to a photo hosting website then paste the URL into your reply here. Either use the "Img" button in the row of buttons above to insert the image directly into your post. or just paste the URL into the text of your next post here then people can click on it.

I'd be interested if someone knows a better way.

[OLTB]

That would be fantastic and just leaves me wondering how I upload an iPhone photo onto TLF...

Sorry for being a more incompetent IT dolt.

Cheers, OLTB.

I expect like most, you have areas of expertise outside of IT. Don't beat yourself up over it.

An interesting question. As far as I know, the only way is to publish (upload) your photo to a photo hosting website then paste the URL into your reply here. Either use the "Img" button in the row of buttons above to insert the image directly into your post. or just paste the URL into the text of your next post here then people can click on it.

I'd be interested if someone knows a better way.

Thanks Mike - by jove I might have done it...

https://i.imgur.com/RRdWd02.jpg

Cheers, OLTB.

[Mike4]

That would be fantastic and just leaves me wondering how I upload an iPhone photo onto TLF...

Sorry for being a more incompetent IT dolt.

Cheers, OLTB.

I expect like most, you have areas of expertise outside of IT. Don't beat yourself up over it.

An interesting question. As far as I know, the only way is to publish (upload) your photo to a photo hosting website then paste the URL into your reply here. Either use the "Img" button in the row of buttons above to insert the image directly into your post. or just paste the URL into the text of your next post here then people can click on it.

I'd be interested if someone knows a better way.

Thanks Mike - by jove I might have done it...

https://i.imgur.com/RRdWd02.jpg

Cheers, OLTB.

Well done!

Now here it is, using the "Img" tag to bung it straight into a post:




And to answer your original question, that is almost certainly the foundation subsiding. Although it sounds horrifying, it is probably of little consequence given it is a porch. A photo from further back showing the whole porch would help with opinions.

[Itsallaguess]

A photo from further back showing the whole porch would help with opinions.

It definitely would...

Also, a question for OLTB - are there any local downpipes going into nearby drains anywhere near the bottom of that column of bricks?

Cheers,

Itsallaguess

[staffordian]

...or any trees, large shrubs etc nearby?

My parents had a relatively minor subsidence issue on the front corner of their house and it turned out to be due to a relatively innocuous looking small conifer nearby.

It's removal solved the problem. I think the type of soil is a key factor.

[OLTB]

A photo from further back showing the whole porch would help with opinions.

It definitely would...

Also, a question for OLTB - are there any local downpipes going into nearby drains anywhere near the bottom of that column of bricks?

Cheers,

Itsallaguess

Thanks again both - just as an aside, we are soon to be replacing our driveway and front garden with a brick driveway so if any repairs/support need to be done, that would seem to be an opportune time seeing as they will be digging out what's there. Here are the larger pictures if that helps more:





The crack is to the right of the window opening.

There is a medium sized Russian Olive Tree a few metres in front of the porch staffordian, so that might be affecting things.

Thanks so much again, cheers, OLTB.

[Itsallaguess]

The crack is to the right of the window opening.

Where does the small pipe go that's under the window?

Is there a toilet cistern on the opposite side of that wall?

Cheers,

Itsallaguess

[OLTB]

The crack is to the right of the window opening.

Where does the small pipe go that's under the window?

Is there a toilet cistern on the opposite side of that wall?

Cheers,

Itsallaguess

The little pipe is an overflow pipe used by bees! and yes, it’s attached to the toilet cistern on the other side of the wall.

Cheers, OLTB.

[Mike4]

Most peculiar. It looks like subsidence or settlement but I can't understand what is holding the brickwork above it, up. Is it possible it has been there for the whole of the 14 years you've been there?

If it were my house I'd stick a glass 'tell tale' or some other sort of crack monitor across it and see if the glass breaks. This will tell you if it is stable or continuing to subside. I would not be concerned about it other than that a surveyor for a future purchaser might make a fuss about it.

http://thehelpfulengineer.com/index.php ... ell-tales/

[Itsallaguess]

The little pipe is an overflow pipe used by bees! and yes, it’s attached to the toilet cistern on the other side of the wall.

On the bottom of the last picture you've posted, we can see a grey lintel at the bottom of the outside wall under that overflow pipe.

That's likely to be where the waste water from the toilet exits the house, at right angles to that wall, and will join into your other waste-water pipework at another junction.

The toilet pipework is not likely to be that deep on the outside of that wall, and if it's going to be paved at some point anyway, then I'd suggest that outside lintel area would be worth investigating, as there's a good chance that there's a pipework issue in that area that's causing this structural issue.

This is the time of year for these types of investigations too, because you can dig down around the pipework whilst the weather is dry, and if you see any water or dampness around the waste water pipework and it's not been raining recently,, then you'd have a good idea that there's an issue with the pipe seals or joints that's allowing that water to escape in that local area.

As an aside, is there any sign of similar issues on the inside walls, at the same height as the external cracks?

Cheers,

Itsallaguess

[Mike4]

As an aside, is there any sign of similar issues on the inside walls, at the same height as the external cracks?

Being a cavity wall, there is no reason the equivalent crack inside will necessarily occur at the same height as the outside crack....

(Edit to sort ou my quotes!)

[Itsallaguess]

As an aside, is there any sign of similar issues on the inside walls, at the same height as the external cracks?

Being a cavity wall, there is no reason the equivalent crack inside will necessarily occur at the same height as the outside crack....

I agree, but subsidence also tends to show itself like this on weak-points in the structure of a given wall, and such weak-points often are replicated on both sides of a cavity wall.

Given that both sides of the cavity are likely to be stood on the same bit of foundation, I'd be surprised if there's been no transmission internally somewhere along the same vertical brick-line, so if OLTB hasn't specifically investigated the internal wall already, then it's going to be worth taking a close look, as it might help to expose the potential seriousness of the situation..

I would not be concerned about it other than that a surveyor for a future purchaser might make a fuss about it.

If the area wasn't being planned to be block-paved, then I'd tend to agree, but given that it is, then the task of digging down externally in the area of the lower grey lintel and exposing the toilet waste-pipe and external pipework would be something I'd prefer personally to get done before the drive work begins.

Forewarned is forearmed, after all, and I would always prefer to remove the risk of an unknown remedial task like this holding up a separate job like the drive-paving, if at all possible, but even beyond that, I'd simply want to fix the underlying issue anyway, before things potentially took a turn for the worse...

Cheers,

Itsallaguess

[DrFfybes]

Has the window been replaced in your time there?

That looks about the height where some ham fisted installer would use a hammer in fixing into the mortar which could separate the brick courses, or perhaps have ordered a slightly too tall window for the gap.

Paul

[Mike4]

Has the window been replaced in your time there?

That looks about the height where some ham fisted installer would use a hammer in fixing into the mortar which could separate the brick courses, or perhaps have ordered a slightly too tall window for the gap.

Paul

I'd say that is a perfect explanation!

I bet the window fitter ran a fixing screw straight into the mortar joint which cracked and separated it, given how little weight of brickwork is above.

[OLTB]

Has the window been replaced in your time there?

That looks about the height where some ham fisted installer would use a hammer in fixing into the mortar which could separate the brick courses, or perhaps have ordered a slightly too tall window for the gap.

Paul

Thanks Paul and yes, the window was replaced about 8 years ago...hmmm...perhaps that is the answer.

Thanks very much for looking and hopefully I'll have the answer soon as I think a call to the house insurer to get a surveyor round is something that will allow me to rest easy (one way or the other!).

Cheers, OLTB.

[Itsallaguess]

hopefully I'll have the answer soon as I think a call to the house insurer to get a surveyor round is something that will allow me to rest easy (one way or the other!).

Are you sure you want to get the house insurer involved at this stage?

Once you've been tagged with the 'subsidence' label, even if it's not actually warranted, then you might have difficulty with taking out future insurances...

The window is a small one, and I'd maybe have a think about removing the internal beading and just dropping the double-glazed pane out for a few minutes, and check to see if there is an internal fixing right in line with that mortar line.

I've dropped out much larger windows than that, and it's not a big job. All I needed was a couple of thin-bladed wall-paper strippers.

Some instructions here -

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zzq-zH1WhTg

You've almost got nothing to lose by just tipping out the internal window and taking a look at the inside of that frame. It should all go back in looking as good as new, and if there's a fixing right in line with that crack, then it might inform any additional decision on getting insurers involved...

Cheers,

Itsallaguess

[OLTB]

hopefully I'll have the answer soon as I think a call to the house insurer to get a surveyor round is something that will allow me to rest easy (one way or the other!).

Are you sure you want to get the house insurer involved at this stage?

Once you've been tagged with the 'subsidence' label, even if it's not actually warranted, then you might have difficulty with taking out future insurances...

The window is a small one, and I'd maybe have a think about removing the internal beading and just dropping the double-glazed pane out for a few minutes, and check to see if there is an internal fixing right in line with that mortar line.

I've dropped out much larger windows than that, and it's not a big job. All I needed was a couple of thin-bladed wall-paper strippers.

Some instructions here -

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zzq-zH1WhTg

You've almost got nothing to lose by just tipping out the internal window and taking a look at the inside of that frame. It should all go back in looking as good as new, and if there's a fixing right in line with that crack, then it might inform any additional decision on getting insurers involved...

Cheers,

Itsallaguess

Oh I see - thanks for the tip and I'll have a look at that video and see what I can see.

Thanks again, OLTB.