Bricks, Masonry, Asphalt and Concrete - cracks in brick above foundation vents

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jd1
03-25-05, 10:57 AM
house built 1967, foundation vents were in poor shape and wanted to replace. chiseled one out, and replaced it with a plastic automatic vent. now i have a crack running vertically above the vent. do these older vents bear the load of these bricks? they are metal, mortared on top and bottom.

chfite
03-25-05, 11:17 AM
Is the crack in the mortar or the brick?
jd1
03-25-05, 11:37 AM
cracks are in both brick and mortar

Shanley
03-25-05, 12:04 PM
masory compreeive loads travell down the wall at about 30 degrees so my guess is that these vent carry very little of the load above them
chfite
03-26-05, 05:41 AM
The vents would not carry a significant amount of the load. Cracks in mortar are generally from settling. Cracks in the brick are usually more structural in nature. Changing the vent may have something to do with the crack, because the actual size of the new vent may be somewhat smaller. It may well be that this small bit of work was just the straw that broke the camel's back.

Structural problems need to be reviewed by an engineer or a mason. Cracked mortar can be tuck-pointed to repair it.

Hope this helps.