Are cracks normal in newly-built homes? Fissure Maison Que faire – what to do with house cracks? This is one question homeowners ask and look for immediate remedies. Likewise for homeowners with homes that are newly-built, you may be unsettled to discovery tiny cracks emerging in some areas on your walls. This is identified as an expansion joint. These house cracks are completely normal and happen as an outcome of your new home as well as its weight perching in on its foundations.

Mbuso Mahlanga of Cosmopolitan Projects sheds light on this occurrence, “Every new building will settle, but with the correct building process and expansion joints, the cracks will be limited and will begin to appear less. This ‘settling’ process can take up to three years and is a normal part of the change in temperature, the drying out of the cement, plaster, bricks and so on.”

“In additional to the typical settlement, buildings are also subject to thermal movement, which means the building will expand and contract depending on the temperature of the building materials incorporated into the structure due to natural materials being used that expand and contract just as they do in nature. All building materials are subject to this type of movement,” he added.

What is an Expansion Joint?

Expansion joints are deliberately made into the walls to make certain that the various wall sections can freely move of each other, devoid of compromising the integrity of the walls. It is frequently built in a straight line with intervals to regulate where and how cracks will come about in concrete. They are cleverly placed on designs as recommended and directed by a structural engineer.

Expansion joint is critical for a well-designed structure. Without this, movement or settlement of the house would produce uneven, unbalanced and much bigger, hideous cracks in the structure of your, and could also bring about cracks underneath tiles and so on.

What is a settlement crack?

Settlement or as a house settles in on its foundations, tiny narrow cracks may immediately appear in or near the expansion joint. As mentioned, they are completely normal in structures that are newly-built and do not point out to anything that is structurally incorrect with your home. Homes are purposely constructed with expansion joints to make sure that these settlement cracks merely take place within or along the expansion joint. Settlement cracks are easily remedied with a cosmetic retouch by use of fillers and a coat of paint.