Cracks are what get people to finally pick up the phone. They're visible, they're irritating, and they come back after you patch them. Here's how to read yours before anyone shows up.
Reading a Crack
| What you see | Usually means | Concern level |
|---|---|---|
| Hairline vertical crack in drywall above a door | Normal settling or seasonal movement | Low — monitor |
| Fine map-like cracking on slab surface | Concrete shrinkage during curing | Low — cosmetic |
| Vertical crack in brick, uniform width | Often minor; may be mortar-related | Low to moderate |
| Stair-step crack following mortar joints | Differential foundation movement | Moderate to high |
| Diagonal crack from a window or door corner | Racking — the opening is going out of square | Moderate to high |
| Crack wider at one end than the other | Rotational movement | High |
| Crack where the two sides are offset in depth | Vertical displacement | High |
| Horizontal crack across a wall | Lateral soil pressure | High — get it looked at |
| Gap where brick separates from window frame | Section of the wall dropping | Moderate to high |
The Width Test You Can Do Today
Grab a coin. A US dime is a bit over 1 millimeter thick; a quarter is close to 1.75 mm. If a crack won't take a dime, it's hairline and most likely cosmetic. If it comfortably swallows a quarter — roughly a sixteenth of an inch and up — log it. At about a quarter inch, most contractors consider it worth investigating regardless of anything else.
The single most useful thing you can do: take a photo of the crack with a tape measure or coin next to it, and write today's date on a strip of masking tape stuck beside it. Do it again in three months. A crack that hasn't changed in two seasons is behaving. A crack that has visibly opened is active, and active is the word that matters.
Why Stair-Step Cracks Are the Ones We Care About
Brick is strong in compression and weak in tension. When one part of the foundation drops relative to another, the brick veneer can't stretch, so it tears along the weakest path — the mortar joints — producing that diagonal staircase pattern. The direction it climbs points roughly toward the part of the house that stayed put, which tells a contractor where to start looking.
They cluster at openings because windows and doors are the weak points in a wall. That's why the classic Wichita County presentation is a stair-step crack starting at the corner of a window, on the side of the house with the worst drainage or the least shade.
Repairing the Crack vs. Repairing the Cause
This is where a lot of money gets wasted. Injecting epoxy or repointing mortar makes a crack disappear. It does absolutely nothing about the movement that created it. If the cause is active, the crack comes back — sometimes within a season.
The right order is always:
- Determine whether movement is active. Elevation readings plus crack monitoring over time.
- Stabilize the foundation if it is — piering or pier-and-beam work.
- Correct the water that caused it — grading and drainage.
- Then repair the cosmetic damage: tuckpointing, epoxy or polyurethane injection, drywall patching, re-hanging doors.
Do it in that order and the repair holds. Do it backwards and you'll be patching the same wall every year.
Cracks That Mean Call Sooner Rather Than Later
- Any horizontal crack running across a foundation wall or stem wall
- Cracks wide enough to see daylight or feel outside air
- A crack that has visibly widened within a single season
- Cracks with offset — one side sitting higher or further out than the other
- Multiple stair-step cracks on the same elevation of the house
- A crack accompanied by doors that suddenly won't latch
None of these means catastrophe. All of them mean the free inspection is worth an hour of your Saturday.
Frequently Asked Questions
Should I patch a foundation crack myself?
If it's a stable hairline that hasn't changed in a year, patching for appearance is fine. If it's active, patching hides the only evidence you have. Photograph and date it first, monitor for a season, and get it inspected before you cover it up.
Do cracks in the garage floor matter?
Garage slabs are often poured separately from the house slab and crack on their own schedule, so a crack there doesn't automatically mean the house is moving. What matters is whether the crack has vertical offset, whether the garage door still seals, and whether it lines up with cracking elsewhere.
Can I just caulk cracks in my brick?
Caulk is a moisture seal, not a repair. It'll keep water out for a while, which is worth something, but flexible caulk over an active crack simply stretches and hides the movement. Fix the cause, then repoint the mortar properly.
How fast do foundation cracks get worse?
In this climate, in bursts rather than steadily. Cracks tend to open during long dry stretches as clay shrinks, then partially close after heavy rain. That's why monitoring across a full year tells you far more than a single look.
Does homeowners insurance cover foundation cracks?
Usually not, when the cause is soil movement — standard Texas policies typically exclude earth movement and settling. There are exceptions, most often when a sudden covered event such as a burst plumbing line caused the damage. Our guide on insurance and foundation repair in Texas covers where the lines usually fall.
Related Reading
- 12 Warning Signs of Foundation Problems in North Texas Homes
- Does Homeowners Insurance Cover Foundation Repair in Texas?
Cities We Serve in and Around Wichita County
- Wichita Falls Foundation Repair
- Burkburnett Foundation Repair
- Iowa Park Foundation Repair
- Electra Foundation Repair
- Lakeside City Foundation Repair
- Pleasant Valley Foundation Repair
- Sheppard AFB Area Foundation Repair
- Holliday Foundation Repair
- Henrietta Foundation Repair
- Archer City Foundation Repair
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