Hi, I hope I'm in right place
I have just bought a house and need to fix some things. I hope you can help with this crack above my garage.

 

How to put pictures in your post.

 

That's a decent sized crack. I would inspect the header/lintel above the garage door for signs of sagging.

Easiest would be to caulk the crack. I would probably use mortar though and fill it in as best as you can. The most proper way to repair it would be to dig out the mortar from the cracked joints and fully re-point (re-do) the mortar joints.

 

"re do joints"... ok so you want me to take chisel and hammer and remove mortar which connects separated bricks and then fill that space with new mortar? Is there a... some kind of a gun to fill mortar in tight spaces? like a caulking gun but for mortar?

 

As far as I know all you could do with a caulking gun is use a mortar caulk which could make it look decent but that type of repair is only cosmetic. IMO it wouldn't be that big of deal to chisel out some mortar and remortar with a small trowel, I suppose you could use a grout bag.

 

Run a string or laser from one upper corner to the other to see if it is sagging in the center,

If yes it may be a major problem.

 

ok I will check.
So what kind of major problem are we talking about? the roof is sagging or ceilling in garage needs to be rebuilt or reinforced?

 

I would not obsess over it till you check it and see if it is sagging and how much is is sagging.

If it has been like this for years and not getting worse then it may have sagged shortly after construction and is now stable.
I just think it is better to be safe then sorry.

 

I dont kbow the story. Previous owner wont talk to me.

 

It might just be a settlement crack. I wouldn't be overly concerned unless the garage ceiling is sagging or the door doesn't fit properly.

 

The thing that concerns me is that the brick is supposed to be sitting on a steel lintel. That steel lintel should not let one brick slip down lower than the one right next to it. So in your photo, that dark black brick is lower than the one to its right. Even if the header has sagged, one brick shouldn't be lower than another on that bottom row because they should both be sitting right on the steel. They should not just be sitting on the wood trim. So I would tap around with a screwdriver underneath the bricks and see what you find. It's very unusual for the wood trim to protrude that far out, so it may have been added to hide something.

 

How can I remove some photos? I cant add new ones.

 

Look at the top of the forum section. There are instructions for posting pictures. The forum has a limit on the memory you can use but if you host your pictures on a photo hosting website there is no limit.

 

If it were my garage I would chip out the old mortar and repoint the bricks. Google "repointing bricks" and you'll find several instructional videos.

If that solves the problem you're done. If it cracks again then you should look for the cause.

 

the thing is. I just bought it. Previous owner didnt yell me that garage has a major problem so I can still take him to court and he will pay but if it nothing and putting new mortar would help then there is no need for court.
I looked everywhere. I cant see option to remove some of my photos. Ive reached the limit and cant add more.

 

Dont think we need more photos, it's pretty obvious that there is sagging. Bricks don't do that unless the header is sagging. The only way to know how much is with a stringline. The bricks seem to have dropped 3/8" on one side, which shouldn't be possible if they are sitting on the steel lintel... unless it is also bending as the header bends. Tuckpointing the brick is not a long term solution... it's more of a bandaid, or cosmetic solution. The brick above your house numbers is broken in half. Tuck pointing won't fix that.

This problem is only going to get worse over time unless it's fixed right. Drive through any neighborhood that was built 20-30 years ago and you will find similarly sagging garage door openings. Some guys just don't learn. The header needs to be larger. And LVL. (That garage opening would never fly nowadays, there also isn't enough framing on the sides of the garage doors to keep it square.)

You need to figure out like I said earlier if there is any steel under that brick or not. If there isn't, yeah you should be heading to court. Wood does not under any circumstances support brick. And unless that is just a shadow line on the top inch of that trim, that wood looks like it's being crushed under a load.

The way the brick is finished off on the right side of the garage door near the ground is a sure sign that it was amateur hour the day that work was done.

 

I only wanted to show you these 2 photos.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/v0kjrxib0y...73001.jpg?dl=0


https://www.dropbox.com/s/nbms5ob70v...74316.jpg?dl=0


1) the wooden piece on the bottom of bricks is cracked in 2 spots : diagonally and straight). The steel plate should be there? or under?
2) I dont know if you can zoom in but there are 2 types of caulkings under bricks:
old white'ish.. used, torn...
and newer...ish clear not torn.
Why would you use 2 different caulkings?
Why should I call ? who should I find on yelp to inspect it and find how bad it is and the cost?

 

Could be that the hosting site you are using is banned by this site or it's antivirus/antispam.

Perhaps a moderator can help you here, just give it a little time.

 

Yes, like I said, the wood is cracked because it is under load due to the sagging header and brick. It looks like the trim is covering (in front of) the steel that the brick sits on. If there is a gap above the wood you could tap / poke around above it to find the steel. Or just cut out and remove a piece of the trim. It will need to come out sooner or later anyway in order to be repaired.

As far as who to call, just call a mason in your area. If a carpenter needs to be involved, he will tell you. More than likely the header needs to be replaced. I wouldn't want the mason doing that unless he is proficient in both framing and masonry.

The only reason to call an inspector is if you need to use that as the legal basis to hire the repair work done.

He won't tell you more than we already have.

 

Well, I need somebody proffesional to write a statement that problem like that doesnt show up after one night. With some huge luck mayve we can convince previous owner that this is not just cosmetic fix with adding mortar.
Im a truck driver now and believe me, I cant even enjoy this house. The last thing I want is to my wife calling me when Im far from home that garage has collapsed.
So ... call me stupid but I simply dont know. So should look just for "mason" in yelp or carpenter or general contractor? Can you tell me what kind of cost would it be to repair like it should be?
I would like to know if we can live with this issue for years or it may be next week when it will fall down on our car?

 

Did you have a inspection performed before buying the house? If so you may have some recourse there.

How high is the ceiling in the garage? How does the sheetrock above the garage door look? Are there any cracks?

 

Yes, I had inspection. I think this crack was on it but I didnt think it is serious. I didnt look on ceilling inside garage. But I know that top door panel is cracked and sagging...
Our inspector said I shouldnt worry much. I should hire bricklayer/mason and reinforce this area, patch crack. He also said that crack in bricks is most likely because of the ground movement, sagging. I have driveway cracked sideways 3-4 ft in front of garage and when it rains i have a lake instead of driveway.

 

I resized your pictures for you. You are limited to 10mb so you can't post many 2-3mb pictures. You need to resize them to approx 600x600 and 100kb file size. You can use PAINT which is in most computers to do the resizing. If you hit your max or post large pics.... just PM to take care of them. You're now at 1.2mb of storage.

 

I would suggest you hire a state licensed structural engineer to look at this. A licensed engineer is important if you think this may go to court and to get a person qualified to analyze the design of a structural beam and design a fix.

In the meantime, I don't think you have to worry about it actually falling down. Without getting real technical, it may be a bit underdesigned in allowable deflection, but I'm betting it's just fine in bending; masonry does not tolerate much deflection. There's also what called an arching effect in masonry that will help out.

 

You have not said how much it has deflected down.

Since you knew about it when you bought the house I doubt that the original owner has any liability.
The inspector might have a liability issue but it would have to fall down first as he did note it but said it should be OK.

I am not an inspector but I disagree that it is due to shifting. If the sidewalls shift the header/lintel should still stay flat and not bow.

 

Mortar will seal a crack fine but I typically use hydraulic cement to repair any crack for added strength.

It's been mentioned here but my primary concern is why it failed in the first place. That shouldn't move. Was the home professionally inspected prior to purchase? Any decent inspector should have caught that.

Given the location it certainly seems like the header is sagging. If you can confirm this is the case you would likely need to jack it back up and sister it to prevent future deflection.

Can you post a pic of the inside? t would be interesting to see how that span is supported.