Drywall – How serious are these cracks in drywall and foundation

I worked concrete one summer while I was in high school, but I'm no expert and it was a long time ago. That being said, here's what I would try:

I'd give both of your solutions a shot first. However, if you end up completely destroying the two chips, I'd try to pour a new corner. Drill two holes into the corner of the foundation and dowel into it with a few inches of 3/8" re-bar. After you've hammered in the steel, form up the corner and pour the concrete.

Also, this forum includes discussion about how to repair similar cracks.

This website also explains a bit more about this type of foundation crack:

Brick that is laid directly in contact with concrete foundations can cause angular cracks like this in the top 12 - 16 inches of a foundation. These cracks are caused by the brick expanding and pushing the outer corner of the foundation with it. The cracks are not major structural problems.

It is often pointless to repair them as the next time it gets hot, a crack will likely appear in your repair material.

From the pictures it looks like the cracks may only be in the stucco, and the underlying structural wall may be unaffected. It's hard to tell without actually inspecting the wall, but my guess is that these cracks are only skin deep. However, you will want to treat them to prevent them from spreading.

Here is a good article about Cracks in stucco.

Here are some excerpts from the article.

All buildings are subjected to a variety of stresses in various forms and this stress is often transferred to the plaster stucco membrane.

Stucco is not and never was intended to be a structural material.

Cement stucco is a relatively thin, brittle shell over a framed structure and can crack if the stresses are transferred and overcome the strength of the plaster membrane.

SHRINKAGE STRESS

All Portland cement shrinks as it cures. Controlling and minimizing that shrinkage is critical to minimizing cracks

Shrinkage cracking tends to have a map-like cracking pattern.

OUTSIDE SOURCES

Structural loads, lateral force racking, thermal changes, wind, lumber shrinkage and seismic events are all examples of outside sources of stress.

HOW HARMFUL IS A HAIRLINE CRACK?

a hairline crack does not automatically mean the stucco is faulty, failing or will not function for the service life of the building.

MAKING REPAIRS

Once the decision is made to make repairs, there are several options.

Option 1: Treat the joint with the same finish material.

Option 2: Paint the wall or ceiling after treating the crack with an acrylic paint or paint designed for stucco.

Option 3: An elastomeric paint coating.

Option 4: Recoat the wall from architectural break to architectural break with the same finish material.

Option 5: A new basecoat and mesh over the wall area.