Structural Movement

All buildings move—the key is understanding normal settling versus dangerous structural movement that threatens your investment and safety. Ontario's freeze-thaw cycles, expansive clays, and variable moisture create challenging conditions causing foundations to shift, walls to bow, and frames to rack. Acceptable movement includes hairline cracks from initial settling, seasonal crack variations, and minor thermal expansion. Dangerous signs include progressive crack growth, doors/windows out of square, sloping floors, or separation between building elements. Monitoring with crack gauges, survey markers, or photographic documentation tracks whether movement is active or historical. Causes range from foundation problems and water damage to poor original construction or adjacent excavation. Fix My Brick identifies movement patterns, determines root causes, and implements appropriate solutions from simple monitoring to structural reinforcement. Understanding your building's movement patterns helps distinguish cosmetic issues from serious problems requiring immediate professional intervention.