She stopped staring at the wall. Instead, she watched her downspout and kept the soil sloped. And every spring, she thanked Hank for teaching her that a little knowledge turns a scary crack into a simple to-do list.
He also showed her how the soil sloped toward the house instead of away. Two simple fixes: extend the downspout 6 feet out, and add a little fill dirt to create a gentle slope away from the foundation. cracks in brick veneer
Hank taped a simple “crack gauge” over the largest crack — two strips of paper with a line and a date. “Check it in six months. If the line still matches up, you’re fine. If it’s pulled apart, call me.” She stopped staring at the wall
The old farmhouse had stood for a hundred years, but the brick veneer on its eastern wall had begun to tell a worrying story. Tiny, hairline cracks snaked from the corners of the kitchen window, and a few wider gaps appeared near the foundation. Every time the wind blew, Sarah imagined the cracks growing, and she worried about water, about structure, about the thousands of dollars she didn’t have. He also showed her how the soil sloped