Tips for repairing cracks and fissures in exterior walls

Once the cracks appear, the most important thing is to find the origin of the movement that caused the crack, prevent water from entering and call, if necessary, professionals to fix it. It is important to know how to detect the cause of the movement to choose the appropriate repair system.

The essential thing is to make a preliminary report or a more elaborate diagnosis to detect the origin of the pathology. We can say that fissures and cracks are physical pathologies caused by unexpected stresses that the element cannot resist. The most common origin of a crack is a structural movement, and in most cases, caused by a settlement in the ground. In the rest of the cases, we depend on different tests (destructive, non-destructive, laboratory tests and service tests) to resolve a final opinion.

A way to identify the origin in cracks of lengths greater than 50 cm and that is inclined is neither horizontal nor vertical. Suppose you look at the cracks that have a certain inclination. In that case, the origin is always the centre of the possible radius that would draw them, or seen in another way, the line perpendicular to the crack points to the origin of the problem.

Vertical and horizontal cracks are more difficult to detect. They can be caused by movements of the subsoil, or by construction defects, structural joints, changes in the section of the elements, etc., in the weak points of the façade and structure.

Of course, these tips are indicative. Contact Grupo Escribano, where we usually deal with this type of pathology and ensure that the pertinent studies are carried out.