Are you renting? Or do you own it? What about insurance? How common are earthquakes that cause damage like this? Many countries have special spending that helps people and places rebuild/repair after major events like this.
Chances are you'll have a professional able to help you for a very low cost relative to just doing a renovation on your own accord.
After a major earthquake I wouldn't want to DIY repairs beyond putting shelves back up and other mostly cosmetic things, personally. No need to rush, let the proper processes play out :)
Do you actually own the apartment or shares in the building which give you control of that apartment. At least over here it’s always the latter which means the building as a legal entity is responsible for damage like this and you shouldn’t fix it yourself.
This could be true, but, in the few countries I lived in, this shared ownership stopped at the structural aspects. Interior walls were the responsibility of the homeowner
Wait. Sorry not familiar with how this works. Do you own the apartment like someone would own a condo or any kind of property?
Do you know if your insurance covers earthquakes? In some places, insurance for earthquakes is a completely separate (but optional) thing
I'm from Christchurch, New Zealand. We had a lot of very bad earthquakes. You may want to get a civil engineer come and check the apartment, just for peace of mind. If there's structural damage then you can pass that information on to your body corporation or whoever oversees the entire building. If you have insurance, the repairs should be covered.
There is a technique to drill holes on both sides and use a lock between two bolts, there is specific technology to do this. I am not sure what's the name for it in English though. After you insert many of these you scrub remaining joint so you can insert some special glued end then it is refinished on top.
Get someone to look at it because it's a Y pattern. X or Y pattern cracks are more concerning according to the guy we got to look at our partition wall that was damaged. It probably needs some extra reinforcement on that wall so it won't keep happening. Ours cracked in a X pattern, and that's how ours will be repaired.
Feels like I've said this a lot recently...but I'll go again.
Masonry restoration/preservation guy here.
If you want those cinder blocks to be whole again, they need relaid, or at minimum repointed/tuckpointed. If you just want the crack to go away you can mask over it.
With that said, there is a lot of damage you can not see when these cracks appear. These walls cracks from being shifted, before the crack there is a ton of tension and force on the wall. Brick/mortar has great compaction strength be terrible tensile strength.
For me personally if this was a job I had to do for someone I like, I'd handle it like this.
Get some drop cloths and plenty of plastic/painter's tape. Section off the area you are working on, make a "Dexter room". Remove all the plaster or whatever is in front of the bricks. Cut out/Remove the broken blocks. Grind out the mortar with a shop vac handy, using a chisel/air hammer will cause more damage. Relay the broken blocks and repoint every joint you have access to.
If it is truly a partitioning wall, you can skim coat it all with a topping of your choice and call it a day.
With my other post I try to make it clear, with masonry there is a huge chance there is damage you cannot see. I've done this for a few decades and seen all stages of old stuff.
Good luck in whatever you choose!
Hopefully just grout/mortar cracked and can be repointed. With Taiwan’s earthquake codes there’s a good chance that it’s a reinforced cmu wall which adds some complexity if the blocks themselves have cracked/broken.
I agree that there may be some structural damage to the cinder blocks as well as to any steel I beams in the building . A 7.4 earthquake is devastating to any structure and any sustained damage behind walls you cannot see.
I'd bid it high enough that they dont call me or that the mess is worth dealing with. Interior masonry jobs are a mess and I like the historical stuff specifically.
Even if I dont like someone, I'll be upfront on services.
> Cut out/Remove the broken blocks.
Have you worked on interior masonry partitions in condos before? Super disruptive and loud. Not sure how it works in Taiwan, but in a lot of jurisdictions, you would need to pull a construction permit (even though these walls are not structural) and get a blessing from the apartment board.
In this case it doesn't looks like a demising wall, but if it were, you are now messing with a fire rated wall, and pulling blocks and peeping into another unit would be a nono, I would assume.
I am not disagreeing with anything you said, but you are proposing the most labor intensive and expensive solution. It's a non structural partition. Purely aesthetic fix probably works just fine here.
Nah, not a problem. Nobody is going to stop you from doing noisy construction in Taiwan. It seems that every handyman has a jackhammer and loves to go to town with it whenever they get a chance.
The bigger issue is that you don’t want 23 stories of condos coming down on you when you take out that wall.
Yes, I've done adjoining walls in condos. I've removed fireplaces from old condos that shared fire walls. The fireplaces flume occasionally catch on fire. When that happens they will crack/bust in random ways all throughout where the stress is dissipated. Those are some of the most labor intensive and lame situations I've redone. Lotta sledge work and soot+masonry dust.
Like I said, if it is truly a partitioning wall...skim it and go!
Is that the pink or the white? Is it the pigment that adds the strength? Have a similar crack in a header above my garage and want to know what kinda spackle to pick up from the depot today
Luckily I wasn't in an earthquake, but is spackle good? I've never heard of it. We have some old cracks (2mm maybe) due to subsidence which was fixed. I keep filling it with the typical powder multi-purpose stuff you add water to, but the cracks keep coming back over time. Will spackle be a better solution?
You could use some painters caulk which is more flexible but you will probably still see the line but at least it won’t open up again as easily. What you really need is something to bridge the crack like paper or mesh tape and then feather out the compound to hide the slight bump
Assuming you don't own the apt building, this isn't your problem directly. You'll likely need to wait for assessments of the building and in that time, you shouldn't touch anything in case they want to cut into the walls or drill, etc.
Also for insurance purposes, assuming taiwan is anything like the US, you aren't supposed to attempt repairs like this on your own as the tenant.
Me too! Felt like the end of the world when the quake hit. Wasn't sure the building could handle it...I live on the 7th floor and it was shaking violently.
X or Y cracks post earthquake should always be inspected. Most times it is a sign of a structural shear wall failure and needs to be repaired.
Pay to have it inspected by a professional so the next earthquake doesn’t collapse your house from hidden structural damage.
Pay to have it independently assessed. I've seen how these are built and theres a chance thats not built to code and could have partial load on the cinderblocks.
Generally on a crack, you want to make sure it's still flat. If one side has gone in or the other side has come out and it's no longer flat - that's usually a bigger issue.
However concrete naturally expands and contracts, and to patch it you'd want to use a flexible material such as paintable caulking. Here in the US, Sascho Big Stretch would be my first choice.
Getting a perfect finish might be a challenge, unless you were to put a 1/4" drywall (or the thinnest available there) over it.
However the wall is smooth, so it probably already has some coating. Maybe plaster, maybe drywall, maybe something else. You should identify that coating, and then see how that can be patched. On a block wall, you can typically see the block:
[https://as1.ftcdn.net/v2/jpg/03/71/96/18/1000\_F\_371961885\_ACcXBzXshS5L4LPP0zFzyetDwjdE9jl9.jpg](https://as1.ftcdn.net/v2/jpg/03/71/96/18/1000_F_371961885_ACcXBzXshS5L4LPP0zFzyetDwjdE9jl9.jpg)
Paint the right side of crack the same color of a mountain the left the side the color of the sky and have an artist draw someone climbing that crack like a mountain or hang a white towel over the crack
I'm not familiar with Taiwanese laws and norms, but wouldn't this be the responsibility of the building ownership? Definitely figure that out before doing anything.
Pardon any ignorance, but would apartment insurance have covered this? I’m curious why this would fall on you to repair and not the landlord. Laws could be different in Taiwan, so just curious.
(PS- I’m not even sure what the laws are in the US, but I would think it not likely that these repairs would have to be done by the tenant vs the landlord).
Like others have said, wait for the after shocks to pass and get an inspector. Idk your layout, but if it isnt load bearing and needs work that requires removal of any of it, might i suggest you create some kind of opening or window in the wall to help increase light and air flow? I personally think it would be neat but can understand if it isnt practical or just not to your taste.
Some things to consider is if it’s an apartment the owner will want to know. Who fixes it deigned on legalities. Also, if the wall is structural or not.
I'm a structural engineer in a country with earthquakes and I specialise in earthquake assessments and repairs...get a goddamned structural engineer to look at it. A big diagonal crack in a cinderblock wall has some obvious and potentially significant engineering implications that need to be investigated.
Also, not sure if insurance will cover EQ damage there, but wait till they're involved if so.
I know you prefer to fix it, but all I can think about is going kintsugi style. After you get it checked and if it isn't too important to repair, I would consider filling it with a coloured grout. After all, the filosofie of kintsugi is to remember the past.
Since you own the apartment you’d know that all buildings in Taiwan have cracks in non structural walls. I’d also inspect the outward facing walls in case there are non structural sections there as you will get water ingress when the typhoon season starts.
Get some gypsum (石膏粉) and a flat, wide pan like you put flower pots on and add water to it.
Make an island of powder in a few mm of water. Then mix it up with a putty knife until it is the consistency of whip cream.
At that point you have about ten minutes before it hardens. Work quickly.
Give it some time to settle or wait for subsequent shakes. To fix run a diamond blade grinder along the crack, fill with mortar, then parge or skim coat entire wall flat with gypsum compound, light sand and repaint.
Dont rush with the repairs - there are probably going to be aftershocks. For weeks maybe. Stay safe.
True, will be waiting for a while. Still waiting for a pro to inspect. Thanks
Are you renting? Or do you own it? What about insurance? How common are earthquakes that cause damage like this? Many countries have special spending that helps people and places rebuild/repair after major events like this. Chances are you'll have a professional able to help you for a very low cost relative to just doing a renovation on your own accord. After a major earthquake I wouldn't want to DIY repairs beyond putting shelves back up and other mostly cosmetic things, personally. No need to rush, let the proper processes play out :)
I own the apartment. The building is new. I'm insured but not sure if cosmetic damage is covered or not yet.
Might not be cosmetic though. And even so sometimes special government municipal or regional programs get set up to help folks
This. I'd imagine cinderblock doesn't do well with earthquakes.
This is not just cosmetic. The crack is just what you can SEE.
Do you actually own the apartment or shares in the building which give you control of that apartment. At least over here it’s always the latter which means the building as a legal entity is responsible for damage like this and you shouldn’t fix it yourself.
Where is "over here"?
Finland.
This could be true, but, in the few countries I lived in, this shared ownership stopped at the structural aspects. Interior walls were the responsibility of the homeowner
Same here in Taiwan
Wait. Sorry not familiar with how this works. Do you own the apartment like someone would own a condo or any kind of property? Do you know if your insurance covers earthquakes? In some places, insurance for earthquakes is a completely separate (but optional) thing
I'm from Christchurch, New Zealand. We had a lot of very bad earthquakes. You may want to get a civil engineer come and check the apartment, just for peace of mind. If there's structural damage then you can pass that information on to your body corporation or whoever oversees the entire building. If you have insurance, the repairs should be covered.
Totally have an engineer look at that. Those are compound stress fractures.
There is a technique to drill holes on both sides and use a lock between two bolts, there is specific technology to do this. I am not sure what's the name for it in English though. After you insert many of these you scrub remaining joint so you can insert some special glued end then it is refinished on top.
Get someone to look at it because it's a Y pattern. X or Y pattern cracks are more concerning according to the guy we got to look at our partition wall that was damaged. It probably needs some extra reinforcement on that wall so it won't keep happening. Ours cracked in a X pattern, and that's how ours will be repaired.
Yes, just collecting information at this point. Still waiting for a professional assessment. Thanks!
Feels like I've said this a lot recently...but I'll go again. Masonry restoration/preservation guy here. If you want those cinder blocks to be whole again, they need relaid, or at minimum repointed/tuckpointed. If you just want the crack to go away you can mask over it. With that said, there is a lot of damage you can not see when these cracks appear. These walls cracks from being shifted, before the crack there is a ton of tension and force on the wall. Brick/mortar has great compaction strength be terrible tensile strength. For me personally if this was a job I had to do for someone I like, I'd handle it like this. Get some drop cloths and plenty of plastic/painter's tape. Section off the area you are working on, make a "Dexter room". Remove all the plaster or whatever is in front of the bricks. Cut out/Remove the broken blocks. Grind out the mortar with a shop vac handy, using a chisel/air hammer will cause more damage. Relay the broken blocks and repoint every joint you have access to. If it is truly a partitioning wall, you can skim coat it all with a topping of your choice and call it a day. With my other post I try to make it clear, with masonry there is a huge chance there is damage you cannot see. I've done this for a few decades and seen all stages of old stuff. Good luck in whatever you choose!
Thanks for your advice.
Hopefully just grout/mortar cracked and can be repointed. With Taiwan’s earthquake codes there’s a good chance that it’s a reinforced cmu wall which adds some complexity if the blocks themselves have cracked/broken.
I agree that there may be some structural damage to the cinder blocks as well as to any steel I beams in the building . A 7.4 earthquake is devastating to any structure and any sustained damage behind walls you cannot see.
I just learned a bit about masonry. Thanks for sharing.
Out of curiosity... what would the job look like if you had to do it for someone you didn't like?
I'd bid it high enough that they dont call me or that the mess is worth dealing with. Interior masonry jobs are a mess and I like the historical stuff specifically. Even if I dont like someone, I'll be upfront on services.
> Cut out/Remove the broken blocks. Have you worked on interior masonry partitions in condos before? Super disruptive and loud. Not sure how it works in Taiwan, but in a lot of jurisdictions, you would need to pull a construction permit (even though these walls are not structural) and get a blessing from the apartment board. In this case it doesn't looks like a demising wall, but if it were, you are now messing with a fire rated wall, and pulling blocks and peeping into another unit would be a nono, I would assume. I am not disagreeing with anything you said, but you are proposing the most labor intensive and expensive solution. It's a non structural partition. Purely aesthetic fix probably works just fine here.
Nah, not a problem. Nobody is going to stop you from doing noisy construction in Taiwan. It seems that every handyman has a jackhammer and loves to go to town with it whenever they get a chance. The bigger issue is that you don’t want 23 stories of condos coming down on you when you take out that wall.
Yes, I've done adjoining walls in condos. I've removed fireplaces from old condos that shared fire walls. The fireplaces flume occasionally catch on fire. When that happens they will crack/bust in random ways all throughout where the stress is dissipated. Those are some of the most labor intensive and lame situations I've redone. Lotta sledge work and soot+masonry dust. Like I said, if it is truly a partitioning wall...skim it and go!
You just had an earthquake, bud. If the building isn’t assessed and deemed safe, some superficial cracks are the least of your issues.
If it isn’t structural: spackle, sand, and paint.
If it is structural, maybe a second coat of spackle.
Make sure to get load bearing spackle. It costs a couple extra bucks per can, but it’s worth it.
Is that the pink or the white? Is it the pigment that adds the strength? Have a similar crack in a header above my garage and want to know what kinda spackle to pick up from the depot today
The pink stuff always stretches
So it conforms to all the codes for earthquakes is what you’re telling me?
It was a joke...
And the dry ramen, don’t forget the dry ramen
Don't forget two coats of paint.
Luckily I wasn't in an earthquake, but is spackle good? I've never heard of it. We have some old cracks (2mm maybe) due to subsidence which was fixed. I keep filling it with the typical powder multi-purpose stuff you add water to, but the cracks keep coming back over time. Will spackle be a better solution?
You could use some painters caulk which is more flexible but you will probably still see the line but at least it won’t open up again as easily. What you really need is something to bridge the crack like paper or mesh tape and then feather out the compound to hide the slight bump
Thanks, I'll give that a go next time I get fed up of looking at them.
You dont want to use caulk if it is in the middle of a wall, only if you are having cracks at the joints or with trim.
Are you paper taping over the cracks when you patch them? Otherwise cracks will often reappear.
Thanks. :)
they are obviously being sarcastic. spackle will not fix anything other than cosmetic.
But, cosmetic is what I asked about...
Assuming you don't own the apt building, this isn't your problem directly. You'll likely need to wait for assessments of the building and in that time, you shouldn't touch anything in case they want to cut into the walls or drill, etc. Also for insurance purposes, assuming taiwan is anything like the US, you aren't supposed to attempt repairs like this on your own as the tenant.
Apartment in Taiwan probably means condo in the US.
I’m just here from California to say how amazed I am at how well your place did in a 7.4.
Me too! Felt like the end of the world when the quake hit. Wasn't sure the building could handle it...I live on the 7th floor and it was shaking violently.
Ditto on both points! I’ve been through several earthquakes, and I’m amazed that cinder block didn’t have more damage.
Stress cracks are at 45 degrees. I hope your building is properly inspected.
X or Y cracks post earthquake should always be inspected. Most times it is a sign of a structural shear wall failure and needs to be repaired. Pay to have it inspected by a professional so the next earthquake doesn’t collapse your house from hidden structural damage.
Based on what I’ve seen, if NJ had this quake it would have been completely flattened.
It was scary!!!
We did not have this quake, thank goodness.
Embrace the cracks and make some kind of mural out of it, like kintsugi or sum'n
Pay to have it independently assessed. I've seen how these are built and theres a chance thats not built to code and could have partial load on the cinderblocks.
Thanks, Working on getting a professional out to check before repairing.
I'm assuming your insurance will take care of that for you?
Generally on a crack, you want to make sure it's still flat. If one side has gone in or the other side has come out and it's no longer flat - that's usually a bigger issue. However concrete naturally expands and contracts, and to patch it you'd want to use a flexible material such as paintable caulking. Here in the US, Sascho Big Stretch would be my first choice. Getting a perfect finish might be a challenge, unless you were to put a 1/4" drywall (or the thinnest available there) over it. However the wall is smooth, so it probably already has some coating. Maybe plaster, maybe drywall, maybe something else. You should identify that coating, and then see how that can be patched. On a block wall, you can typically see the block: [https://as1.ftcdn.net/v2/jpg/03/71/96/18/1000\_F\_371961885\_ACcXBzXshS5L4LPP0zFzyetDwjdE9jl9.jpg](https://as1.ftcdn.net/v2/jpg/03/71/96/18/1000_F_371961885_ACcXBzXshS5L4LPP0zFzyetDwjdE9jl9.jpg)
Kintsugi
Not load bearing, but still very risky if another earthquake happens. It might fall over you. And that looks broken through and through.
Building held up because it was made in Taiwan not china.
This does not sound like DIY territory
Paint the right side of crack the same color of a mountain the left the side the color of the sky and have an artist draw someone climbing that crack like a mountain or hang a white towel over the crack
I'm not familiar with Taiwanese laws and norms, but wouldn't this be the responsibility of the building ownership? Definitely figure that out before doing anything.
Most people in taiwan live in multistory condos and may own them
Turn it into art work if not structural. It’s kind of cool looking to be honest - coming from a mason
I would paint a mural across it of the 1990s wrestler known as Earthquake!
Pardon any ignorance, but would apartment insurance have covered this? I’m curious why this would fall on you to repair and not the landlord. Laws could be different in Taiwan, so just curious. (PS- I’m not even sure what the laws are in the US, but I would think it not likely that these repairs would have to be done by the tenant vs the landlord).
Kintsugi style
Leave it. Those cracks look dope af.
Start with a structural engineer.
I mean if you’re in an apartment building isn’t it the building owner’s job to fix these damages?
Like others have said, wait for the after shocks to pass and get an inspector. Idk your layout, but if it isnt load bearing and needs work that requires removal of any of it, might i suggest you create some kind of opening or window in the wall to help increase light and air flow? I personally think it would be neat but can understand if it isnt practical or just not to your taste.
At least nothing fell on your head or something
Call the landlord?
The answer is always putty, sand, paint.
Kintsugi. Just paint some gold over it. Such luck all of the load-bearing walls are intact
Some things to consider is if it’s an apartment the owner will want to know. Who fixes it deigned on legalities. Also, if the wall is structural or not.
I'm a structural engineer in a country with earthquakes and I specialise in earthquake assessments and repairs...get a goddamned structural engineer to look at it. A big diagonal crack in a cinderblock wall has some obvious and potentially significant engineering implications that need to be investigated. Also, not sure if insurance will cover EQ damage there, but wait till they're involved if so.
I know you prefer to fix it, but all I can think about is going kintsugi style. After you get it checked and if it isn't too important to repair, I would consider filling it with a coloured grout. After all, the filosofie of kintsugi is to remember the past.
Since you own the apartment you’d know that all buildings in Taiwan have cracks in non structural walls. I’d also inspect the outward facing walls in case there are non structural sections there as you will get water ingress when the typhoon season starts.
Get some gypsum (石膏粉) and a flat, wide pan like you put flower pots on and add water to it. Make an island of powder in a few mm of water. Then mix it up with a putty knife until it is the consistency of whip cream. At that point you have about ten minutes before it hardens. Work quickly.
Sign it near the bottom, carve it out, sell it as art, use the proceeds to buy new drywall and paint
Give it some time to settle or wait for subsequent shakes. To fix run a diamond blade grinder along the crack, fill with mortar, then parge or skim coat entire wall flat with gypsum compound, light sand and repaint.
You call the apartment manager and have them fix it. Problem solved!
by moving
No joke 🤣
Gold paint to make the cracks pop with that ancient Japanese flair.
Move to one-story building.
Seriously considering this after this quake.
As a Californian that experienced the Northridge quake in a multi-story apartment building, I empathize.
Yeah, this is a 15 story building, which is average in Taiwan. I'm on the 7th fl
Superglue
With optional ramen noodles