TL;DR
A stair-step crack is a diagonal fracture in block or brick walls that follows the mortar joints in alternating horizontal and vertical runs, resembling a staircase. It is the signature of differential foundation movement, one section settling or heaving relative to another, and is more serious than vertical shrinkage cracking, especially when joints are displaced, the crack exceeds a quarter inch, or one wall face bulges.
What it means
A stair-step crack is a diagonal fracture in block or brick walls that follows the mortar joints in alternating horizontal and vertical runs, resembling a staircase. It is the signature of differential foundation movement, one section settling or heaving relative to another, and is more serious than vertical shrinkage cracking, especially when joints are displaced, the crack exceeds a quarter inch, or one wall face bulges. Foundation contractors track its width over time with gauge marks before prescribing piers or wall reinforcement.
Where it sits in the glossary
Stair-step 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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