Foundation Corner Crack

When a foundation is poured it is as long as it will ever be in its life. It’s got water in it that will slowly dissipate as it cures. It takes a long time of this to fully cure and eventually the foundation contracts just a little bit over time. When new bricks are installed they typically as small as they will ever be. They’ve come out of a hot kiln where they are really dry. Once installed on the home and Father Time sets in along with Mother Nature the foundation begins to contract slightly and the bricks begin to expand slightly. The rub between the two  shows up at the weakest point which is the corner of the foundation where a ‘V’ type crack often forms. 

It can occur on slabs or basements alike. People are never sure what to call it but it is commonly referred to as a ‘Foundation Corner Crack’, ‘Foundation Corner Pop’ or ‘Foundation Corner Shear’.  It looks a lot worse than it is and it is not a structural concern. A foundation wall is usually 8 or 10 inches thick so losing 2 or 3 inches of depth off the wall does not affect its load bearing capabilities. The next thing people worry about is the bricks falling off or becoming unstable on that corner. This is also not a concern as the bricks are held to the wall via brick ties plus all the mortar holding them to one another, so losing support under one or two on the corner does not destabilize them.

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