Easy Brick & Wall Crack Repair

The average annual cost to properly maintain a house is 2% of the home’s value reinvested. If this rule of thumb doesn’t hold true for you, please prepare yourself to invest the money you saved over the years into getting your home ready for the market.. There are some easy ways to save money by getting your home pre-inspected and making cosmetic repairs yourself.   

The Problem

If buyers see cracks in bricks outside or along the walls inside, they will assume the worst and go buy another house. If you ruled out any major structural or foundation damage, here are a few easy steps to make cosmetic repairs yourself.   

Click here to get a printable home repair checklist and scroll down for brick repair tips.

What to Buy for Outside Brick

Use pre-mixed sanded tile grout, not mortar repair. Mortar repair usually has only 3 different color options. Sanded tile grout usually offers 20+ color options, which allows you to color match to near perfection. Also, sanded tile grout is suitable for swimming pools, showers, and exterior uses because it is highly weather resistant, and the texture is virtually identical. Brand doesn’t matter much. Any home improvement store will have a nice selection, however, each store will carry different color selections due to available inventory.

They come in quart or gallon size buckets. Get quart size. See the image below for colors we have found work well on most homes. Purchase a few good colors. The biggest time waste is driving to the store. If you see all the ones I marked, buy them all. If you don’t see them all but you see something else that looks close (linen, earth, or another), by all means grab it, too. Home Depot and Lowes have excellent return policies.

Application Instructions

Put your artist hat on. Get a shallow, sturdy container to serve as your palette. Scoop a spoonful of a brownish color and grey color onto the palette. Next mix the colors together in portions that would help you achieve the best match. Keep mixing the colors until it matches to 80% perfection. The color will appear slightly different after it has dried. Effective blending will mitigate any color match imperfections.

Next, begin a test area by finding an inconspicuous area of the house, dip your finger in the mixed solution then run it along the mortar area (between the bricks). If you have several cracks, you may need gloves.

As you drag your finger down the mortar line, the mix will naturally taper off and blend really well with the existing mortar color.

Cracks Running Through the Middle of a Brick

Most of the time the thing that makes a crack stand out is the shadow inside the crack. If there is a small crack in the brick, fill the crack with a very small amount of the mortar solution. Just use a minimal amount so it’s not caked on. Then wipe off any excess. It’s always best to test a little area to see how it looks before covering a large area. Keep in mind, you know where the cracks were before you attempted to fix them, so you’ll always know exactly where to look to find the patch job. Someone that didn’t know where the crack was before your repair job likely won’t be able to find the repaired area if you did a good job matching colors and blending.

What to Buy for Inside Cracks

MH Ready Patch Spackling & Patching Compound

This product works like a spackling paste but is designed to be as strong as plaster. This is easy to apply and its durability is incredible. Works on cured plaster, drywall, and wood. Sand it and then give the entire room a fresh coat of paint. The best part about this product is it's elasticity, allowing for natural movement of the house and it won't crack.

Other Solutions:

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