[Jerrichaud]

Hey,

We inspected a house and took a pic of an overhang which is part of a 40 year old addition on a 75 year old house.

There is a large crack where the new addition brick meets the old house brick and we are concerned. The home inspector said it's not that big of a deal. He said that we could just put a bead of caulk to keep the bees out.

We're not so sure. Pic of the crack attached.

Thanks for all replies.

 

[joecaption]

If the cracks about the same width from top to bottom it should not be an issue.
Most likely someone just used the wrong type of caulk and did not use any backer rod.
If it was my house I would used foam to fill the gap and installed 1 X 4 PVC lumber to cover that whole thing up attached to the red brick with Tap Cons.

 

[Jerrichaud]

Thanks for the reply.

It looks like the crack is the same width until near the base of the addition where it narrows. We just want to make sure this crack is nothing to worry about and that it's not going to fall down. We have no experience with brick, or addition construction. We are in Ontario, Canada.

 

[Mingledtrash]

If the cracks about the same width from top to bottom it should not be an issue.
Most likely someone just used the wrong type of caulk and did not use any backer rod.
If it was my house I would used foam to fill the gap and installed 1 X 4 PVC lumber to cover that whole thing up attached to the red brick with Tap Cons.

I am not so sure its just the caulking check out the half brick on the very top row it has pulled out of the row. I think the addition and original house are moving away from each other or at least the brick veneer is. From my experience it is pretty common for an addition to move separately from the original house as it is very hard to get the two foundations to act together.

 

[Jerrichaud]

Thanks for the replies.

There is no caulking. It's a corner mortar joint that is cracked all the way down. The top brick is definitely pulled apart from the rest of the red brick wall.

There is no foundation. The back part of the addition is supported by 2 columns. We think it used to be an old car port and the addition was added on top of the car port.

I've attached a few more shots. Thanks for all input.

 

[cibula11]

Find out if it was permitted. I would assume if it was there would be a footer. if in fact it was a car port and converted, I'd bet there isn't a footer and you are see the results from frost heave.

 

[tnprogrammer]

I don't think that addition, especially with the weight of the additional brick, is supported well at all. I've been buying and rehabbing houses for about 20 years. I certainly don't know it all, but no way would I feel comfortable buying that house with the addition supported in that manner. If I did decide to buy it, I would add probably two more poles on either side after tearing out enough concrete to dig proper footers for the poles, which up in Canada could be as deep as three feet.
See how the crack is bigger at the top? That means the addition is tipping forward, which tells me right away that the front poles are not supported properly. They are sinking.

 

[jimn]

A crack there to this humble guy means something is separated . That does not look a suitable foundation for an addition . I would look elsewhere . Caulk is not a fix here. I would wager something structural is going here . I don't any of of the fixes are going to be cheap. If you go ahead I would have a structural engineer look at this. Home inspectors are not engineers (not usually anyway)

 

[Jerrichaud]

Thanks for all the replies guys. You've given us lots to think about.

We are going in again tonight with a level and tape measure to look for any additional signs of structural failure or sinking. We are looking for uneven floors, walls and posts. Is there anything else I should be looking for to distinguish structure problems from cosmetic?

The addition was built in the 70's. The front half of the addition is built on a solid brick garage. It's the back half that is overhanging.

Would a poorly constructed addition last for 35+ years and then begin to fail?

There is no cracking of the brick veneer on other side of the addition. Wouldn't it crack on both sides if the overhang was sinking?

The seller says they never had a problem with the addition and that flat roof was done in 2009 and the roofers didn't indicate that anything was wrong.

I wish I had more time to hire a structural engineer to take a better look. I may ask for an extension on the inspection sign-off.

I appreciate any replies.