Bowing Brick Wall in Chicago? What You're Seeing and What to Do

If a brick wall on your building looks like it is belly-ing out, leaning, or waving along its length, treat it as a structural question first and a masonry question second. We are masons, and this is the one wall problem where we tell owners to get an engineer's eyes on it before anyone touches a joint.

This article does not tell you how serious your wall is. Nobody can do that from a photo or a list. It tells you what owners usually notice, why the City takes it seriously, and how the repair path works in Chicago.

What a bowing brick wall looks like

Owners describe it in different ways, and most of them are right:

• A section of wall that sits proud of the rest, like a belly, usually between two windows or above a doorway.
• A wall line that is no longer straight when you sight down it from a corner.
• A wall that leans away from the building or toward the gangway.
• Cracks that follow the mortar joints in a stair-step pattern next to the bulge. See stair step cracks in brick.
• Brick faces or mortar that has dropped to the ground below the spot.
• Window or door frames that no longer sit square in the opening.

Seeing one of these does not tell you the cause. A wall can move because of what is happening at the top of it, behind the face, above an opening or at the base. That is why the cause comes before the repair.

Why the City cares about a bulging wall

Chicago's property maintenance rules say the exterior of a structure must be kept in good repair and structurally sound, and they list masonry that is not weather tight and veneer or facing that is not properly anchored as unsafe conditions (City of Chicago, 14X-3-303). A wall that has moved can run into both.

The consequences are not theoretical. In 2016, bricks fell from a two-family home on the West Side and injured two people on the sidewalk (ABC7 Chicago). In a separate case, City records cited a West Englewood church for failing to maintain its exterior walls and a lintel, and for failing to protect the sidewalk, and the owner was being prosecuted in Cook County court (CBS Chicago). Those are not two-flat bowing cases, but they show what the City and the courts look at when masonry fails over a public walkway.

What to do first

1. Keep people away. Stay off the sidewalk, gangway or yard directly under the bulge. Move cars, bikes and trash carts if you can.
2. Photograph it. Shoot the whole wall, the bulge up close, any cracks and the ground below. Add a date. Photos help the engineer and help you later.
3. Do not push, pull or patch. Do not fill cracks with caulk or point over them to hide the movement. That covers up the evidence an engineer needs.
4. Call an Illinois structural engineer or architect. They find the cause and write the repair. We can recommend how to find one, and we work with them.
5. Then bring in a licensed mason to carry out what the engineer specifies.

Why a wall bows

We are not going to guess at your wall's cause, and neither should anyone who has not opened it up. Here is what a good inspection looks at:

• Above and around openings. A steel lintel that rusts or deflects pushes the brick above it out of line. BIA ties lintel cracking to excessive deflection and notes that unprotected steel needs maintenance (BIA TN 31B). Our post on rusted lintels and cracking brick covers that case.
• Water and salt. When trapped moisture and dissolved salts crystallize inside soft brick, the face can spall or delaminate (NPS Preservation Brief 2). A wall that stays wet for years is a wall that gets weaker.
• What is behind and under the face. A brick wall is more than the layer you see. Whether the face is still tied to what is behind it, and whether the base has moved, are questions only an opened-up wall answers. See foundation wall repair.

How a bowing wall gets fixed

The right repair depends on the engineer's findings, and the permit depends on how much of the wall comes down.

• Replacing only the outer layer (wythe) of a masonry wall can go through the City's Express Permit program. Rebuilding all layers of an exterior wall cannot, so it goes through a different, plan-based review (City of Chicago, Express masonry limits).
• Plan-based permits need plans prepared by an Illinois-licensed architect or engineer, usually an architect or structural engineer (City of Chicago).
• The masonry work needs a City-licensed mason contractor, unless an eligible owner acts as their own contractor (City of Chicago). The license covers work in brick, stone and concrete (mason contractor license).
• The City's Express masonry page lists what Express covers. Confirm current requirements with the Department of Buildings before you plan on any route.

Scaffolding, a dumpster or materials on the sidewalk or alley are a separate public way permit. For the full permit picture, see the brick repair permit rules.

What to ask before you hire

1. Who is finding the cause, and is that person an Illinois structural engineer or architect?
2. Who pulls the permit, and is the mason City-licensed for brick?
3. Will you open the wall to see what is behind the face?
4. What happens to the sidewalk or alley during the work?
5. If you find more than we expected, how and when do you tell me?

Not sure whether what you are seeing is a bulge or just a stain? Our self-inspection checklist shows what to look for. When you have the engineer's findings, our masonry crew builds to them. The Chicago brick and masonry guide covers the rest of the system.

Common questions

This article explains general rules and common situations in Chicago. It is not legal advice, and City rules change. For a specific property, check with the Chicago Department of Buildings or a licensed professional.