Welcome!

By registering with us, you'll be able to discuss, share and private message with other members of our community.

SignUp Now!

Options for brick repair

RCC

0
Registered
Joined
Sep 18, 2007
Messages
43
Has anyone encountered exterior clay brick that is flaking and breaking off?
There is water damage as the patio joins the wall at the 4th row of brick above the concrete foundation & snow collects on the brick wall.
I have a recommendation to have the bricks removed and replaced but another recommendation to grind away the flaking pieces and apply a coat of parging - similar to stucco in look but stronger material. I am thinking parging solution as bricks do not need to be removed and less costly.
Would appreciate your thoughts on each solution.
 

housedoc

0
Registered
Joined
Nov 27, 2008
Messages
117
Either the bricks have failed due to water absorption and freezing, or the mortar may be too `hard` causing the bricks to fail rather than the mortar.
If you parge over crumbling bricks, the parging will fail.
You need to remove any loose material first. If there`s lots of it, you may have to replace the bricks and then parge if the resulting repair doesn`t look perfect.
Also, you need to keep the water/snow away from the structure.
 

Nir

0
REIN Member
Joined
Dec 5, 2007
Messages
2,880
If feasible in your case, even removing a few bricks and replacing them with blocks, then parging is not expensive at all. not my field of expertise but I did have to replace bricks that came out in the past and the process mentioned costs less than $1,000.
 

eddyb1978

0
Registered
Joined
Jun 8, 2009
Messages
81
I do have a similar issue with a small perimeter made of cynder blocks though! outside my condo towhouse to accommodate for some flowers and plants etc...

The bricks are cracking terribly because they are exposed to the element and water etc... there was parging done before and now more bricks are craking and some parging films (concrete) are even coming off!!

I am thinking of researching options for an exterior paint membrane material to seal the cynder blocks and provide some waterproofing? i hear that there are products outthere!

Thoughts?

Thanks,
Eddy
 

RCC

0
Registered
Joined
Sep 18, 2007
Messages
43
This is rather confusing. I spoke with 3 masonry repair companies and got 3 different recommendations:

- grind away the loose pieces and parge
- replace the bricks with stone pavers
- replace the bricks with clay bricks and then parge.

Which would you select?
 

Nir

0
REIN Member
Joined
Dec 5, 2007
Messages
2,880
For each option find out the approximate number of years solution is expected to last. Then divide the price you got by years and you will get your price/yr. lastly, consider, cosmetically, the negative or positive effect each solution would have on the value of the property.
 

SumasMasonry

New Forum Member
Registered
Joined
May 10, 2021
Messages
1
Yes, I highly recommended that you avoid drywall, which is the main concern. The larger pieces that you find in your yard are not standard, as they create back-breaking work when placed on a wall. I also recommend that you use any type of drywall mud, otherwise known as sheetrock. The actual drywall should be 1/2" to 5/8". In order to prevent mud from being applied, the water level in your area must never fall below 25 feet. For more details see here: http://masonryyxx.com
 
Top Bottom