Vertical Cracks and Out-of-Plane Deformation in Masonry Wall

[CARunderscore]

This doesn't have anything to do with a project of mine. Rather, it involves a potential public safety issue that I intend to bring to the local building inspection or public health/safety office. However, it's the weekend, and I'd also like some input from people who are experienced with masonry to help ground myself in terms of how concerned I should be.

There is an office building at the end of my street, located on a fairly steep hill. The east side of the building is the front and uphill side, facing the main road. It overlooks a small plaza bounded by what appears to be a retaining wall on the north side. On the north side is a steep street with a public sidewalk tight against the building, on the south side is a parking lot, and on the west side is my street, also with a public sidewalk. The exterior of the [steel-framed?] building is clad in a brick veneer, and the retaining wall matches it. I now suspect the "retaining wall" is actually the exterior wall of an enclosed parking garage, but I will refer to it as a retaining wall for simplicity.

About a month ago, I noticed two large vertical full-depth cracks at the corner of the "retaining wall": one behind the facade wythe facing the sidewalk, and a shorter one at the interface with the front of the building (it terminates at a door lintel). The outer wythe bulges out slightly at the widest point of the crack, near mid-height of the wall above grade. I measured the crack and there hasn't been any measurable change since.

I have, however, noticed more cracks on the west (downhill) side of the building, as well as some out-of-plumbness in the west wall.

I didn't actually see the ripples near the upper louver until I uploaded the photos from my phone. What I was trying to capture in the picture was the wall seeming to bow out between the window openings. However, upon looking at the building from the south side, it appears that the west wall is plumb for most of its height, and that the top story [of the parking garage?] leans inward a bit, with an inflection point near the middle of the story. Note the evidence of various repairs.

I've lived on this street for over a year and walk on this sidewalk almost every day. I've never noticed any significant cracks before last month, and I think that both they and the minor repairs seen in some of the photographs are new. But, also because I've lived here for awhile and am used to the scenery, I could be wrong. I have only a vague idea of what this building looks like on the inside and was unable to even find readily available information about when it was constructed. When the only cracks I noticed were those in the "retaining wall," I was content to just monitor them and only contact the authorities if I noted worrisome change, but now I am more concerned about masonry falling onto the sidewalk.

I don't really have a good sense of how much cracking/deformation a brick wall call tolerate before it becomes dangerous, especially not with these long, straight cracks that go through the brick. Any thoughts on what is going on here? Also, any advice on how to approach the local government about this? I figure there's a good chance that they're already aware of the issue, but maybe not.

Thanks,
CAR_

 

[oldestguy]

Without trying to see which wall is where as to the photos my guess is these are temperature related movements of the wall masonry. I didn't see any vertical expansion joints which there should have been. Not likely a safety issue since the masonry usually is attached to the structure in some ways. If any action, I'd contact the maintenance folks for the building and ask if they are aware of the cracks.

 

[JoelTXCive]

What is the approximate age of the building? If you think the brick is just a veneer, then I'm guessing its a newer building.

Structure Magazine had an article about facade cracks last year. The focused on older turn of the last century brick walls. (early 1900s).

See below.........

http://www.structuremag.org/?p=11782

 

[masonrygeek]

I don't think we have enough information to make an informed decision at this point. Some questions that come to mind:
Was the brick wall originally laid up with a hump in the wall?
What is the backing? Steel studs? Block?
Do we know if the wall ties attaching the brick veneer to the backing are there? Corroded?

Cracking in brickwork can indicate some failure, but it may not be imminent unless we know more. Depending on the city, some cities have facade inspection requirements (

http://www.facadeordinance.com).

If this is the case a study may have been done on this building already. For a formal way to examine a building's facade, ASCE 30 "Guideline for Condition Assessment of the Building Envelope" is helpful.

I can't imagine that the building maintenance staff hasn't seen this already and have notified an engineer or architect. If not, alerting the security guard of the problem may start an inspection and investigation in motion.

 

[CARunderscore]

Without trying to see which wall is where as to the photos my guess is these are temperature related movements of the wall masonry. I didn't see any vertical expansion joints which there should have been. Not likely a safety issue since the masonry usually is attached to the structure in some ways. If any action, I'd contact the maintenance folks for the building and ask if they are aware of the cracks.

What is the approximate age of the building? If you think the brick is just a veneer, then I'm guessing its a newer building.

I can't imagine that the building maintenance staff hasn't seen this already and have notified an engineer or architect. If not, alerting the security guard of the problem may start an inspection and investigation in motion.

The building maintenance appears to be aware of at least some of the cracks because some of the repairs look recent. Part of the reason I was leaning toward going to the health/safety office was because I could find so little information about the building (i.e. who owns it and how old it is), whereas the local government has easily-accessible contact information. But I suppose if there is a security desk and it's not just a swipe-in deal, that might be a good route to go.

The building has been around since at least 1975 (based on an old photograph). I think the masonry is a veneer because the front of the structure has a lot of glazing and looks like a steel frame to me. Additionally, the structure is 5-6 stories above the upper street level and seems to be named after an old local company that used to be in the steel business.

And now that you mention it, no, there were no expansion joints anywhere that I could see. After walking past this a few more times, I've noticed even more cracks, including one where the place of the wall has basically been creased vertically. I guess what I need to figure out is:

1. Did these cracks appear on this decades-old building very suddenly, or did I just start noticing them all at once because I've been paying attention recently?
2. What is already being done about the issue (other than ineffective replacement-in-kind)?
3. Is the big crack that I originally noticed in an exterior wall (which is presumably tied back to a structural member), or is it actually in an attached retaining wall?

Thank you all for your input. I started reading the article. I've been working a lot of overtime this week, but I'll have to see what I can find out about this.

EDIT: I don't think there is any facade inspection ordnance, by the way. This is just outside the jurisdiction of the City of Pittsburgh, which does have one.