Concrete cracks. It shrinks as it cures, it moves a little with temperature and moisture, and after 40 or 50 years (which describes a lot of Encinitas homes) it’s collected a few. Most of those cracks are harmless. A few are the first sign of something that’s worth fixing. Here’s how to start telling them apart before you call anyone.
Read the crack: five questions
1. How wide is it? A hairline you can’t fit a fingernail into is usually shrinkage. Wider cracks aren’t automatically serious, but they deserve a second look.
2. Is one side higher than the other? Run your finger across. If you feel a step, that’s displacement, and it means something moved. This is the most important sign on the list.
3. Is it the same width end to end? A crack that tapers, wider at one end, often points toward where movement happened.
4. Is it changing? Pencil a mark at each end and date it. Take a photo with a coin for scale. Check after a month and after the next big rain.
5. What else is going on? A crack plus a door that sticks plus a sloping floor is a pattern. A crack alone is usually just a crack.
Common crack types and what they tend to mean
- Hairline vertical cracks in a stem wall or slab edge. Usually shrinkage. Common and generally low concern.
- Random “map” cracking on a slab. Surface shrinkage. Cosmetic, though it can let water in.
- Diagonal cracks from a corner. Often differential settlement, one part of the foundation moving more than another.
- Stair-step cracks in block walls. Movement following mortar joints. Worth evaluating, especially on retaining walls. See retaining wall repair.
- Horizontal cracks in a wall that holds back soil. Pressure from the soil side. Get it checked.
- Cracks with rust stains. Steel inside is corroding. Common near the beach. See salt air and concrete corrosion.
What’s different in Encinitas
Where you live changes the likely story. A crack in a Leucadia cottage’s stem wall near a low spot raises drainage questions. A crack across a 1980s New Encinitas slab more often points to edge settlement or a leak. A crack on the downhill side of a Cardiff hillside home raises slope questions. On a bluff-top home in Old Encinitas, cracks on the seaward side get extra attention, and a geotech should be in the loop. See bluff-top home foundations.
Soil isn’t a one-word answer. The City’s hazard annex rates expansive soils as a low hazard citywide and describes softer soils along the 101 corridor. Neither tells you what’s under your house. Site-specific soils are what matter.
After a wet winter. Storms and heavy irrigation change soil moisture fast. New cracks that appear after rain are worth noting and watching.
Time to have someone look
- You can feel a step across the crack.
- It’s wider than a credit card is thick and growing.
- It comes with sticking doors, sloping floors, or gaps at trim. See uneven floors and wall cracks.
- Water comes through it.
- You’re buying or selling and a report mentioned it.
- The home is near a bluff edge.
What we’ll do
We map the cracks, measure floor levels, check drainage, and look underneath if there’s a crawl space. Then we tell you what we think is going on, in plain terms. If it’s cosmetic, we say so. If it’s structural, we explain the options, and we coordinate with licensed engineers as needed. See foundation inspection.
Questions we hear around town
What’s the easiest way to keep tabs on a crack?
Pencil a short line across each end with the date next to it. Take a straight-on photo with a coin or a tape measure in the frame. Look again after the rainy season, and if the crack has grown past your marks, give us a call.
Does a crack mean something different in a 1970s tract house than in a beach cottage?
The crack looks the same, but what’s underneath differs. Many of the tract homes from that era are slabs (our inference, not a survey), so we look at floor cracks and door frames. Older cottages are more often raised, so we look at the stem wall, posts, and piers.
My crack opens and closes with the seasons. Why?
Moisture and temperature swings. Seasonal movement is often minor, but a crack that opens a little more each year is different.
We felt a small earthquake last night. Should we look for new cracks?
A quick walk-around is a good idea after any shaking you felt. Check for new cracks, doors that suddenly stick, and gaps along the foundation line, and compare with older photos if you have them. If something changed, send us a note and a picture.
Get a Free Quote
Not sure if it’s structural? Send us a photo and your neighborhood, and we’ll set up a visit.