Please look at these photos and tell me what you think.
The veneer has 3/4 cracks the support over patio has twisted some, and the door frame or brick molding has pulled at top right side.
Personally I feel this is a design flaw and the door opening was not supported properly. Please note the roof above and it’s valley.
Could this be too much weight for this opening?
Thanks,
Did the door shut properly or did it rub against the top of the frame?
What type of foundation was the house on? Was it a basement, Crawl or slab?
Is it possible the foundation (to the left of the door) could have dropped a llittle due to the lack of gutters and the large area of roof?
I’m just trying to visualize how that step crack could have happened.
Jeff
The weight from the valley rafter and jackrafters does not appear to bear over this door but at the intersection of the two exterior walls to the right of the door. Need the above info and attic framing type…is it similar to what I just mentioned?
Thanks
The home is 2 years old, the door open and closed fine and I did not notice any interior issues other than general cracks in the slab to the right of door. The framing was rafters built on site.
Looks like a problem to me. There is a lot of load on the beam from the roof and dormer loads, and it lands on the door header. It looks like either the door header is not strong enough or is not supported well enough, or the foundation to the left of the door has settled. I would call for an evaluation by a structural engineer.
in my region many patio/garage slabs are poured separate or even at a different time from the house slab and less attention is placed on proper footings at these locations
absence of proper drainage and control expansion joints is also problematic
i’d refer to an engineer also and let them be the judge of “design flaw” although we may agree i wouldn’t report as such
i would advise installation of proper gutter system…
I agree with Barry and Jeffrey W. It appears that the area to the left of the door might possibly have settled a minor amount. The crack to the upper left of the door, and pulling away from the upper right, would suggest this. Can’t tell from the photos but I would also look for a slight compression of the joint at the bottom right of the door frame. Look to see if that gap, at the top right of the door, narrows as it reaches the bottom of the frame. It would only take 1/2" of settlement of the left side to see results such as these.
As Barry said we do see quite a bit of these issues here with our expansive soils. I also agree that unless I am a licensed PE I would refrain from making a call on design. Many of our issues here are as much, if not potentially more, a matter of improper owner soils moisture maintenance, and grade maintenance, than design.
May be a bit of settling in the slab in the area of the wall intersection due to a small concentration of weight from the roof valley. The interior walls, doors and windows show no cracking/jamming to indicate serious movement. Is there any differential movement (say, more than 1/16 to 1/8") in the slab cracks. If not, I would mention the defect/s, recommend re-mortaring/recaulking to prevent water entry and that the repairs be monitored.
You can only determine ongoing movement over a longer period of time; if the rest of the slab support is good, one could assume that any settling here would be minor, especially if the slab edge in this area had not been excavated after the initial pour for services, etc.
From the newbie. It looks like, in pic #1, that the brick lentil is only sitting on about half of half a brick and the grout has compressed to almost nil. Had the lentil ran over to the next brick it would have had better support. I’m thinking lintels need to go at least 6 to 8 inches past the brick edge not just the two or so we see.
George
Mr. Russell is close. It looks to me like the load at the end of that beam caused the settlement. I don’t think the lintel had anything to do with it, although I agree with Mr. Russell that lintels should bear on 6 and preferably 8 inches of brick on either side of the opening. Could they possibly have done something silly like rest the end of that beam on only the brick veneer?
That’s partially what I was thinking. I’ll also bet a dime to a donut that the lintel isn’t bolted to the header properly either.
I’m Just George but thanks for the show of respect.
Brick veneer is just that…a veneer and in this case is not even a “structural” part of the home. It does not support anything. It is virtually a type of siding. This looks like a typical settlement issue due to poorly installed / prepped brick veneer and is fairly common around the upper corners of doors and windows and other openings. Could be caused by a variety of things; little or few or no brick ties at the location to help support the brick veneer and the “soldier course” of brick along the top of wall. The location being under a valley would concern me more about water intrusion through the brick into the wall cavity. Where there any signs of moisture damage to the drywall inside the garage at the location. What we typically seen done for these is a mason come out and examine and / or seal up the cracks to prevent water and vermin from entering. We see a lot of settlement of veneer at corners as well where the brick ledge at the base was poorly finished. If you have ever been on the job site, the brick masons would rather take a bullet than pick up a hammer and nail a few extra brick ties onto the frame so the wall is tied together. sufficiently. They will tell you in a second that is the framing carpenters’ job.
Again, IMHO, appears to be not too serious a problem…
So I’ve been think about this one and as an old framer I’ll guess they tied the beam in with a joist hanger instead of a beam pocket framed into the wall and the lazy helper didn’t put enough nails, or they didn’t catch, into the hanger. Couple that with the crappy lintel and just maybe…
George
Thanks guys for taking the time to help.
Hi. Frank;
I looked at your pictures and it is obvious to me that there has been a differential movement in the L-wing portion of the dwelling.
I am assumming that this is on a slab, due to where you are from.
The brick is a veneer and carries no load. A brick veneer requires control joints. At the door location is where one would have been required if they chose to not install one in the intersection of the L-wing corner of the photo.
At the interior corner of the porch, the brick veneer should have been interupted by a control joint and it was not done.
The brick veneer has relieved itself at the weakest link.
If you look at the joint carefully, it has pulled away and settled minutely and that is why the caulk joint is also showing release to the brick.
There is no substantial weight on the brick due to the valley framing, that is on the Main Exterior wall and so is the Dormer.
The beam look design that we see is only a triple or double header that is picking up the shed roof in front of the dormer.
Dead load here is most likely less than 10#.
I would recommend that a Mason Contractor come in and create a control joint and replace the bricks. Provide backer rod and sealant.
I am a little late with my opinion, but hope it helps some in the process.
Marcel
Happy New Year to You. :)
My client has been following this thread.
He is having gutters installed Wednesday and will be working on drain lines as well.
I have advised him to consult with a Mason Contractor first and we agreed this is what he will do.
Thanks to you and everyone else who has helped.
Happy New Year to you as well. 
