cracked bricks and pointing

[steveg]

I have stepped cracks in the pointing and some bricks have cracked in half. Thought it might have been settlement so engineer from Direct Line came and said no its not settlement, but themal expansion (not that we live anywhere hot!!). He suggested putting an expansion joint in - but to me that would bring more attention to the problem. I'm thinking of getting the cracked bricks removed and just have it repointed - any thoughts? Is there any kind of 'flexible' mortar for pointing?

[Edited by steveg on 12-10-2002 at 10:58 AM GMT]

 

[Hamiltonandy]

Bit puzzled. I have only seen expansion joints in boundary walls. I assume this is your house which has slightly settled. This is quite common in older properties. Unfortunately the 'professionals' use a strong cement based mortar so bricks crack instead of the mortar.
Rather than removing bricks, which is an effort, I would consider using a coloured mortar in cracks to match brickwork. Use some lime for flexibility and brick dust on surface so texture matches. I always use a lime cement sand mixture on pointing as lime adds that flexibility.
Whatever you do, practice first on a spare brick to see if colours are OK when mixtures set and dry off.

 

[AnonymousImport]

thanks for taking the time to reply. I'll look into the lime option - its not one suggested by the 'professional' not suprising eh?

 

[Hamiltonandy]

Yes, I am still researching into use of lime. I recommend you look at article http://www.periodproperty.co.uk/article010.htm
If page not found go to main heading and work down. Concensus is moving away from lime cement sand mixtures to replace cement with other additives to make it set as quickly. However in the South East I have no problem with cement addition to give immediate strength.
I find most in the building trade have not moved on since their 'apprenticeship'. Therefore they only use cement sand mixtures. Plumbers refuse to use plastic piping. They all prefer to use a large hammer rather than gently and easily do jobs with the power tools available!