Perished & Spalling Bricks
If you are a homeowner or property investor and you’re concerned about perished or spalling brickwork, contact our team of Manchester-based surveyors today.
Perished and spalling brickwork is one of the most common building defects our surveyors are faced with. This can be caused by unsympathetic materials, further encouraging masonry paint to deteriorate.
There are many ways to effectively repair this building defect. If you contact our leading local surveyors, we can expertly assist you in identifying perished and spalling bricks.
Cement-based Mortar & Perished Brickwork
Deterioration can be caused when the face of the brick is broken away after freezing temperatures expand the liquid moisture that’s been trapped by the cement pointing. Cement-based mortars tend to often correlate with this building defect as moisture can get trapped behind the render, leading to erosion and dampness.
We strongly encourage property owners to use renders, plasters and lime mortars. These will allow trapped moisture to easily escape as they are air permeable.
Prevent the worsening of this problem and contact House Smart Surveying so we can professionally assess and offer advice on the building defect with a thorough assessment of your brickwork.
Spalling Brickwork
Typically, spalling occurs due to rainwater getting into the bricks, freezing and expanding any gaps or holes and then melting again, leaving brickwork damaged.
If you find that your property is suffering from spalling brickwork, this could have been caused by rainwater penetrating the brickwork. The damage occurs when the gaps become expanded and continue to melt again.
Dealing with spalling brick can be quite costly. If this defect is neglected for an extended period, the erosion and dampness can become significantly damaging to the property’s structure.
It is during the colder seasons that these defects tend to become apparent to homeowners. The frozen water inside the brick will begin to create holes and cracks in the brick. Alongside damaged gutters, this can be significantly damaging to the structure of your property.
It is recommended by our expert team that any spalling brickwork which has been painted with masonry, be completely removed so that the damage can be dealt with properly before being repainted with a paint which is more protective for the structure of your property in the future, such as mineral paint and lime wash.
How To Fix Perished Brickwork
Significant damage caused by frozen water within the brickwork can be costly and difficult to replace. Although this is generally the best and more effective repair option, it’s not the only one. A wall covering can be effective in protecting the property from spalling brickwork damage.
It can be almost impossible to avoid further damaging when removing the render entirely, however, a thick coat of lime render over the perished brickwork can be an effective damage recovery choice. Our expert advisors strongly encourage you to avoid using cement render as this can further damage of the brickwork.
A common practise for bricks which have not succumb to any damage is to apply damp proof clear coating, however, this can eventually lead to moisture damage as it gets trapped and significantly impacts the structure of the brick.
Please feel free to contact a member of our expert UK surveyors today for further advice.