Crack in porch foundation

We have an outdoor porch that is sitting on a slab (i believe). The one side of it has a pretty substantial crack and I’m wondering the best way to fix. Should i just get some masonry caulk and a backer rod, or should i get some mixture? I believe that they are just concrete bricks that are settling apart and/or water water hydraulicing. At it’s largest the crack is about an 1/2 inch in height. The depth seems almost infinite at some points but is at least 2 inches. Here are some pictures for reference.

http://f.cl.ly/items/071R382R3O0A3X152B1X/IMG_2867.JPG

http://f.cl.ly/items/2y1n1y0I091x3g2V231f/IMG_2861.jpg

http://f.cl.ly/items/393J373P3v302D2F2a15/IMG_2864.jpg

http://f.cl.ly/items/2R331q193a2y0t0Y0M40/IMG_2865.jpg

(16 inch ruler) Advice, pertinent articles, or best googling terms greatly appreciated. Thanks for reading.

blg002

in Masonry 10 years and 7 months ago

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thetinkerswagon | 10 years and 7 months ago

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the reason no one has chimed in here is we are all thinking this is worse than it appears. it is sitting on a slab but there should be no gap there. the slab should have a footing under it and that footing should go down 48″ in NY (I think, I am not an engineer nor do I do out of the ground construction). it looks to me as though the slab has settled and will continue to do so. cracks in masonry are normal when vertical as the occur during contraction. but horizontal? and engineer told me they are the bad ones. if you wish to keep water out, I would say put mortar in. forget the backer rod. and don’t put caulk in there as water will get trapped behind it and will freeze and exacerbate an already bad situation. Steve