what do you do when the brick veneer is pulling away from the front of the house?
The house is about 34 years old and has a large crack in the front that starts about 5 feet up from the ground. The cracks are also showing up on the inside near the front windows on the first and second floor.
If the crack is starting that high off the ground and going up from there, that may be a sign that the house is settling at different rates. Given its been there 34 years, I would say it may be "sinking" as opposed to "settling." With one side sinking faster than the other, it is perhaps literally ripping the house in two (albeit very slowly). You might want to have it looked at by a structural engineer or somebody similar.
If the house has real brick front a few things cause this.
The metal lentils that support the the bricks over the tops of the windows is the area I assume your speaking about with the cracks. What happens over time is that the steel is rusting and as a ...»
Also remember brick is a fired clay. When its manufactured it is heated in kilns and dries out and shrinks. As soon as the new brick is exposed to the elements after being made, they begin to expand and grow. A brick in its lifetime can grow at least 1/32 of an inch or more depending on the clays and type of bricks made. So for every 32nd row it is possible for the stack of bricks to raise one inch. The strapping that holds the brick onto the wall and prevents it from falling off of the wall, is designed as is the method of keeping the brick off of the wall when building, allows the brick to raise without failing. Some more expensive brick fasteners slide up and down a little track to allow for this to occur. If the bricks were not properly installed with correct distances and spaces they can get ripped out of the wall and cause the wall to fail.
AS Dan stated the issue of the brick sinking can occur if the brick ledge which is found under the soil can fail allowing the brick to come off and drop. I have only seen this once, so unless you had recent excavation next to the house that could have disturbed this I would doubt that this is the issue you have.
Another issue with older brick walls is that the weeping holes that are installed near near the floor level of the house could have been blocked thus not allowing any water behind the bricks to properly drain out. Check around the floor level and around each window lentil for little holes or spaces with cement missing between the bricks. It is very important that these holes not be blocked up in any manner. If they are you need to get them cleaned out so water can freely flow out from behind the bricks.
A good person to talk to about this would be a brick mason. One preferable that has been in business for many years.
Check out www.bia.org for drawings and more information about this issue your currently having.