A few crumbling bricks - what to do?

[roofus123]

Hi,

Appreciate any advice on this. Recently moved into a Victorian (1900) detached house having spend my previous adult years in new-build flats, hence slowly learning as I go...

We have a few crumbling bricks on the outside of our house - mostly on the right and left sides of the house, around waist to chest height. None have crumbled significantly (generally just the outer few mm), but I was wondering if there is anything I could/should do to stop them crumbling further?

I understand that sealing the entire wall is unwise as it needs to breathe - is there any value in sealing just the bricks that are crumbling? By how much does a brick need to have crumbled before I should start worrying?

Thanks for any advice and apologies for any newbie oversights!

 

[noseall]

The odd brick missing would not do any harm structurally but the weather-tightness with be compromised. One the weathering face has perished then water will easily migrate into the brick and speed up frost degradation. Chop 'em out and replace them.

Woody may say carefully chop 'em out (whole) and turn them around but i say once a brick is shot, it stays shot.

 

[^woody^]

I do say that

 

[^woody^]

Bricks can be sealed with a suitable sealer, and this does not impede the breathability of the wall.

However, sealing is for water penetration and will do little to protect bricks suffering from frost attack

Make sure pointing is in good condition as this protects the bricks

 

[roofus123]

Thanks noseall/woody - is this an easy enough job for a novice (but fairly practical) DIYer?

And can you suggest where I could get hold of bricks that will fit (colour and size - I don't think modern bricks are in match in either department)?

Thanks,

R

 

[noseall]

To remove a brick whole you need to free one perp joint and one bed joint. You can do this by drilling out the the mortar then finish of chopping out the rest with a plugging chisel or bolster chisel.

Feeding a replacement brick in is a bit trickier particularly if the mortar beds are tight.

All the dusty stuff needs brushing out, then give the lot a good damping down. It is then a case of buttering the recipient bricks with a mortar bed and both perps, then butter the replacement brick with the top bed but made wedge shaped so that you can feed and push it in as you go.

We have also found that if you can get some mortar to stick to the top of the recipient bricks it means that you can get a fuller joint. Trouble is it likes to just fall off so damping is essential. Similarly, 'priming' the perps of the replacement brick with a smear of mortar helps too.

Basically what the above paragraph is saying is that if the recipient hole and the replacement brick each had a smearing of mortar then you can get a great deal more into the joints as the brick is fed into position, i.e. less falls off.

And you have to be swift before the mortar dries up. Can get messy though.

Try a reclamation yard for the brick match.