Expansion joints are there to allow the brick of your home to expand and move due to changes in the weather. But if your home has a large void at the expansion joint you should seal it up with the appropriate material like polyurethane sealant. Keeping water out is always the goal!
I’m sure a lot of you have looked at the side of a home and wondered why there is a straight line going from the foundation up to the roof in the brick. Well, that component of a brick home is very important and it does a lot more than you think. Your home is constantly moving and shifting with the weather and this joint in the masonry allows your house to play along and move without adding to much stress to the cladding. In this picture you can see the expansion joint is separating creating a bunch of voids, you don’t see movement like this too often but it is common to see the sealant deteriorating or separating. At the end of the day, the expansion joint did its job and allowed the structure to move without damaging the cladding. I would recommend removing the current sealant and go back in with a foam backer and reseal the joint with the appropriate material to keep water out. Waterproofing your home is extremely important
