Advice needed re. spalling bricks please

[jw80]

Hi folks,

We have a couple of small walls at the front of our house that have been gradually deteriorating since we moved in 4 years ago and although it hasn't been too cold this winter they have suffered more than in previous years which has finally convinced me to do something about them (better late than never, or at least I hope so). One of them looks beyond repair but is it possible to salvage the rest of them? I have read that if there is a long enough dry period to remove all the moisture then you can coat them with a kind of protective paint that should prevent further absorption, is this right? If that doesn't work then could I clad them?

Any advice very much appreciated

Cheers

Jamie

Untitled

• jw80
• 16 Mar 2015
• 1

Untitled

• jw80
• 16 Mar 2015
• 1

Untitled

• jw80
• 16 Mar 2015
• 1

Untitled

• jw80
• 16 Mar 2015
• 1

 

[stuart45]

Reeplace the defective bricks.

 

[RonnyRaygun]

Reeplace the defective bricks.

Yes, and replace them with a low water absorption frost resistant brick, and put in a high bond DPC two courses down.

Or better still, use a coping with DPC underneath.

 

[jw80]

Hi both, thanks. I'm pretty sure that all of the bricks will turn out to be defective - more and more show signs of failing each year - so from the sounds of it there isn't much I can do other than knock it down and start again which I can't really afford to do at the moment.

How hard is it replace individual bricks? I've done a fair amount of indoor diy but never brickwork.

 

[KenGMac]

jw80, HI

Your brickwork in the wall are suffering from the so called Freeze / Thaw Cycle, rain water percolates into the porous brick, OK but then it freezes OK but then the frozen water thaws, during the thaw the frozen water will expand by up to about 8% this expansion which has gone on now since the wall was constructed slowly destroy the porous soft brick.

I hope your external walls are not constructed of the same brick?

Yes you can replace the damaged brick, but finding a good colour match will be a problem, as noted in previous posts, there is good advice in there as regards DPCs, type of brick, Etc.

Eventually,many more of the brick work faces will spall off and drop off.

 

[jw80]

Hi KenG

No, I don't think so although unfortunately we do have a fair amount of free standing wall on the front and side of the house. I did fear that full scale replacement was the only option and it looks as though that will be the case - better get saving!

cheers

Jamie