Causes of Brick Deterioration
Oftentimes in Michigan
you will notice your brick beginning to deteriorate, or the faces of the brick
actually falling off. When your brick
faces begin to deteriorate, or fall off, it is referred to as spalling. The main cause of spalling is moisture. When brick is exposed to water for
excessively long periods of time the moisture begins to absorb into the brick
itself. In fact, many bricks are actually
quite porous and will absorb moisture like a sponge.
Constant shift in temperatures, as well as regular freezing
and thawing will then cause the face of the brick to pop off or spall. This process can be hastened around high
moisture areas such as gutters and downspouts, or on areas of your masonry that
are exposed to moisture heavily such as your chimney. The amount of damage to the brick is
dependant on the amount of moisture and climate shifts.
Many Michigan
homeowners attempt to hide the damage or spalling of their brick by replacing
the damaged areas with a subpar brick match.
Sometimes when a masonry repair has not been installed correctly or the
brick do not match, homeowners and contractors will try to hide this poor
repair with paint. This is one of the
worst things you can possibly do to your masonry. People think paint will seal their masonry
and help camouflage their poor repair.
In fact painting brick only traps moisture inside the brickwork and
hastens the spalling process. Brick
needs to breathe.
Some masonry construction such as cinderblock, cinder brick,
and concrete are not as susceptible to spalling once they are painted. It is really the more porous bricks, such as
reclaim brick, sand lime brick, and chicago
common bricks that are most susceptible to spalling and at the most risk once
painted.
In climates such as Michigan
one of the best ways to prevent your brick from spalling is in the proper
construction of your brick wall. Some of
these methods include use of the proper mortar and the proper style of jointing
during construction.
When you notice your brick are spalled or that your mortar
has deteriorated, the best solution to this problem is to remove the damaged
mortar, remove the damaged brick, and then replace them.
Hopefully this information has proven useful. At Brick Repair LLC we are committed to
quality masonry restoration and the beautification of our communities through
quality craftsmanship. If you notice
spalled brick on your chimney, around your gutters, or the deterioration of
your mortar joints on your house, please feel free to contact us for a free
masonry repair consultation.
Brick Repair LLC is a masonry repair and restoration
specialists serving Southeast Michigan. Our masonry contractors have over 12 years
experience. Some of the services we
provide include chimney repair, chimney crown replacement, tuckpointing, brick
replacement, brick porch construction, brick fireplace construction, brick
fireplace repair, concrete sidewalk installation, concrete step construction,
precast concrete step installation, limestone sill replacement.
For more information on masonry repair, please visit us at http://www.michiganchimneyrepair.com
or call us at 248-895-7752