BUILDING FAILURES

FAILURES IN FOUNDATIONS
Foundation settlement cracking due to
differential settlement of the wall footings, poor
original construction, water, nearby blasting
operations
Concentrated loads or point loads and their
characteristic appearance as foundation damage
Excessive backfill height; premature backfill
causing foundation buckling, leaning, or collapse
Improper materials (soft brick, below grade)
causing settlement, differential settlement,
leaning, or tipping of foundation walls
Shallow/absent/undermined/cut footings,
settlement & frost damage causing settlement,
differential settlement, leaning, or tipping of
foundation walls.
Interior cracks in buildings may be traced to

BUILDING FAILURES
FAILURES IN FOUNDATIONS
Improper soil preparation - failure to compact
soils, especially where foundations are constructed
on fill, can lead to settling footings & slabs
Foundation damaged during moved/modular
building set, often impact damage
General Signs of Foundation Movement or
Foundation Damage
Foundation cracks
Foundation Leaning or Tipping
Foundation Bulging
Foundation Settlement, uniform or differential

Excessive loading leading to foundation

BUILDING FAILURES
FAILURES IN FOUNDATIONS-CRACKS
VERTICAL FOUNDATION CRACKSIn masonry between two
structures - differential
settlement or thermal
movement
Straight or wandering, in
poured concrete, generally
even width, intermittent, or
more often straight - shrinkage /
thermal - low risk
Straight generally even
width, in a masonry block wall,
in mortar joints but possibly
right through concrete block shrinkage / thermal - low to

SETTLEMENT CRACK

BUILDING FAILURES
FAILURES IN FOUNDATIONS-CRACKS
VERTICAL FOUNDATION CRACKS-

Straight or stepped in brick, esp. near ends of wall expansion / thermal, potentially dangerous if wall bond
courses are broken, collapse risk.
In wall, wider at bottom than top - settlement
under building. These cracks may be less serious than
horizontal when found in a masonry block wall. These
cracks could be quite serious when found in a brick
wall, especially if bond courses are broken and there is

BUILDING FAILURES
FAILURES IN FOUNDATIONS-CRACKS
DIAGONAL FOUNDATION CRACKS - Diagonal & Step
Crack Patterns in Building Foundations
SHRINKAGE CRACKS
IF UNIFORM AND
IRREGULAR IN
DIRECTION

From corner towards adjacent opening, wider at

top than bottom - often due to foundation settlement,
expansive clay soil, frost damage, or damage from a
shrub/tree close to the foundation wall.
Under a ground floor window, from sill to ground, sill
bowed up - often due to foundation heave, clay soil,
frost, shallow or absent footings
In the foundation wall anywhere, wider at bottom than top

BUILDING FAILURES
FAILURES IN FOUNDATIONS-CRACKS
Horizontal Foundation Cracks Located High on a
Foundation
Wall
Cold climatesfrost, possible displacement inwards
Possible vehicle loading, displacement inwards
Horizontal Foundation Cracks Located at Mid-wall
Height on a Foundation
Masonry block or stone walls which are cracked and/or
bulging inwards at mid height on the wall are likely to
have been damaged by vehicle traffic or earth loading
Horizontal Foundation Cracks Located Low on a
Foundation Wall
Earth Loading, especially if in an area of dense or wet
soils
Horizontal dislocation of a masonry block or brick wall
may appear first as a crack and then later as horizontal
movement as a wall is pushed inwards by earth or wet

BUILDING FAILURES
FAILURES IN FOUNDATIONS-CRACKS
Foundation Settlement: crack patterns
A settlement crack is more likely to be wider at top than
its bottom as the foundation "bends" over a single point,
allowing differential settlement; it is possible for a
settlement crack to appear fairly uniform however if a
foundation breaks vertically and then pursues
differential settlement.
Settlement cracks need to be separated into initial
settlement due to construction or site factors and
ongoing settlement due to site factors
Usually wider at top, usually continuous, may be
multiple!
Imaginary line, right angle to diagonal crack, usually =
direction of downwards movement; may indicate upwards
wall-lift - see if settlement
cracks at opposite end of wall (e.g. in FL)

BUILDING FAILURES

FAILURES IN FOUNDATIONS-by material

CONCRETEConcrete shrinkage cracks
Characteristic discontinuous path, and are not
structural cracks
Not usually a structural problem
but may in some cases permits
water leakage through the
foundation wall.
This is characteristic of concrete
(or mud) shrinking while giving
up its moisture.
Concrete
cracks often occur at natural stress points where
the uniformity of a poured concrete wall or floor has been
interrupted by placement of a window (in walls of course)
or inside corners (in floors). You may often find shrinkage
cracks that trace across the concrete to these stress

BUILDING FAILURES
FAILURES IN FOUNDATIONS-by material
CONCRETEHoles and penetrations in concrete
foundations:

Poorly-sealed openings left for piping for water or

electrical lines or where form ties were broken off
may form points of water entry into the structure but
are not normally a structural concern.

BUILDING FAILURES
FAILURES IN FOUNDATIONS-by material
CONCRETEConcrete foundation settlement cracking:
If cracks noted and documented
after this time continue to
increase in length or width, some
other cause is at work and further
needed. to uneven
In investigation
this case the is
movement
footing settlement was aggravated by
the combination of having placed the
footing partly on bedrock, water from
roof and surface spillage and runoff
causing soil settlement (the contractor
had not compacted the backfill under
the footings), and by ongoing
foundation blasting at a neighboring

BUILDING FAILURES
FAILURES IN FOUNDATIONS-by material
STONE-

Stone walls, like other masonry walls, are often

damaged by water and frost, especially where roof
spillage splashes close to the foundation wall.
Stone foundation walls on pre-1900 buildings are often quite thick, up to
four feet at their base. In their original design these walls tolerated water in
the outside soils by permitting it to seep through the wall and often to drain
away through a dirt floor or even a through-wall drain in a low corner. Such
dry-laid structural stone foundation walls rarely fail by leaning but are often
found bulged or damaged by water, frost, vehicle traffic, or by modification
by the building owner.

BUILDING FAILURES
FAILURES IN FOUNDATIONS-by material
STONE Dislocations and loose
stones, commonly at
building walls and corners
above grade where
exposed to splashing roof
runoff.
Bulges : due to frost, water,
vehicle loading if vehicles
are driven close to walls
Cracks (if mortared): settlement, vehicle driving close
to walls
Interruptions and loss of integrity such as where stones
have been removed from a structural wall to add a door or
to provide access for mechanicals

BUILDING FAILURES
FAILURES IN FOUNDATIONS-by material
STONE Water leakage is very
common with all stone
walls, especially dry-laid
stones which were placed
without use of mortar. In
original use such walls
were often expected to be
leaky and provision was
made for water passing
through the wall to
continue across a sloped
(dirt) floor and out of the
basement or crawl space

BUILDING FAILURES
FAILURES IN FOUNDATIONS-by material
BRICK-

Cracks and Bulges in brick foundation walls: frost an

earth loading - can push a below-grade brick foundation w
inwards. Often the wall is bulged inwards into a basemen
crawl area as well as showing horizontal and step crackin

BUILDING FAILURES
FAILURES IN FOUNDATIONS-by material
BRICKAlso shows that the upper
section of the wall has
bulged outwards past the
lower or right hand section
of this structure.
damaged by water (roof
spillage) and frost

Diagonal or Stair-Stepped Cracks and loose bricks

in walls: these brick wall crack patterns are typically
due to frost, settlement, sometimes thermal expansion
(Thermal Expansion Cracking of Brick), usually diagonal
or stair-stepped, often at building corners where roof
spillage is concentrated.

BUILDING FAILURES
FAILURES IN FOUNDATIONS
General Suggestions for the Evaluation of
Foundation Cracks
Links at page left discuss the evaluation of individual
types of building foundation cracks. Here are some
general suggestions:
Look at shape, pattern, frequency of
occurrence, relationship to wall discontinuities and
angles, placement of wall penetrations, correlation
with cracks in floors, and location in the wall (corners,
center), as well as length, width, continuity, age of
wall, relation to site conditions (depth of backfill,
blasting, rock).
Shrinkage cracks are usually uniform in width or
(less common) vee-shaped, wider at top and
diminishing or stopping before reaching the bottom of

BUILDING FAILURES
FAILURES IN FOUNDATIONS
General Suggestions for the Evaluation of
Foundation Cracks
Links at page left discuss the evaluation of individual
types of building foundation cracks. Here are some
general suggestions:
Look at shape, pattern, frequency of
occurrence, relationship to wall discontinuities and
angles, placement of wall penetrations, correlation
with cracks in floors, and location in the wall (corners,
center), as well as length, width, continuity, age of
wall, relation to site conditions (depth of backfill,
blasting, rock).
Shrinkage cracks are usually uniform in width or
(less common) vee-shaped, wider at top and
diminishing or stopping before reaching the bottom

BUILDING FAILURES
FAILURES IN FOUNDATIONS
General Suggestions for the Evaluation of
Foundation Cracks
Links at page left discuss the evaluation of individual
types of building foundation cracks. Here are some
general suggestions:
Look at shape, pattern, frequency of
occurrence, relationship to wall discontinuities and
angles, placement of wall penetrations, correlation
with cracks in floors, and location in the wall (corners,
center), as well as length, width, continuity, age of
wall, relation to site conditions (depth of backfill,
blasting, rock).
Shrinkage cracks are usually uniform in width or
(less common) vee-shaped, wider at top and
diminishing or stopping before reaching the bottom