TL;DR
A settlement crack is a fracture in concrete or masonry caused by the supporting soil compressing or shifting after construction, rather than by normal shrinkage. The telltale signs are displacement: one side of the crack sits lower than the other, the crack widens over time, or it appears with sticking doors and sloping floors.
What it means
A settlement crack is a fracture in concrete or masonry caused by the supporting soil compressing or shifting after construction, rather than by normal shrinkage. The telltale signs are displacement: one side of the crack sits lower than the other, the crack widens over time, or it appears with sticking doors and sloping floors. Hairline shrinkage cracks are cosmetic, but an active one of this kind, especially wider than a quarter inch or stair-stepping through block, warrants a foundation evaluation.
Where it sits in the glossary
Settlement crack is part of the Trade jargon group inside the ProFix Directory glossary. Browse every term in this category from the glossary index.
Why Ohio homeowners should know it
This is a term Ohio homeowners encounter when reading contractor quotes, hiring paperwork, or inspection reports. Understanding it well enough to ask one good follow-up question is usually all the protection a homeowner needs.
ProFix Directory keeps definitions short on the index page and saves the longer context — Ohio-specific rules, where the term comes from, and which ProFix tools touch it — for these per-term pages so the term is easy to cite and easy to share.
ProFix tools that touch this term
See also
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