A structural crack is a crack that indicates masonry has lost some of its load-bearing capacity, as opposed to a crack that's only surface-deep. It's typically wider than a hairline, still active or growing, and often runs diagonally or through the brick units themselves rather than staying in the mortar.
The distinction that matters is whether the crack is affecting how the wall carries weight. A structural crack is usually wide enough to fit a coin into, keeps getting wider over time, runs through the brick or block rather than staying in the mortar joints, or shows up on both faces of the wall in the same spot. Any of those signs means the wall's structural capacity, not just its appearance, is compromised.
We treat structural cracks as a call for an in-person evaluation before we recommend a fix, because the right repair depends entirely on the cause: a footing problem needs the footing addressed, not just the crack patched, or the same crack comes back within a season or two once the ground moves again. What looks like the same size crack can mean two very different repairs depending on whether it's still active.
More masonry vocabulary from the glossary.
The services where this term comes up.
Chelo's Brick & Stone serves Hillsville, Galax, Wytheville, Fancy Gap, and Independence, VA. Call for a straight answer and a free on-site estimate.
