Facade cracking

Dilatation advice against crack formation

To minimise the risk of crack formation, dilatation advice can be requested from MBI. These opinions are provided by an external engineering firm that looks at all structural aspects. They look at the entire building, its location, the use of façade supports and lintels and the properties of the facing brick. With the addition of reinforcement in the ribbon joints, the number of expansion joints can be reduced in many cases. The advice given should be reviewed by the building's chief structural engineer.

What to do?

If cracks do appear in the façade, it is important to identify the cause of these cracks.

• Is the façade leaf hindered in its operation?
• Has dilatation advice been requested and applied?
• Is there movement/settlement in the supporting structure, façade supports or lintels?

If no dilatations have been provided, it is in some cases possible to fit them into the facade leaf afterwards. This is a very specialised job that must be carried out very neatly and also take into account water-resistant foils, metal supports and reinforcements incorporated in the facade leaf.

If cracks have appeared in the facades, they can be filled and coloured by specialised companies. This gives an optical improvement, but will remain more or less visible depending on the situation. 
 

Source: KNB info sheet 54

Read also: 
Dilatation of concrete brick façade masonry - Masonry Consultancy Vekemans
Facade supports and horizontal dilatations in masonry - Metselwerk Adviesbureau Vekemans