Single damp brick

[GingerNinja]

I understand giving remote diagnosis to a problem is difficult but I would appreciate any opinion on this.

I found a brick in my garage that has a dark patch on it, it has been this way for several months, since I noticed perhaps as much as 6-8 months. This brick is about 3 to 4 bricks from the ground and just by the back door to my house on the outside (the back door leads to an extension which is a garage, so the wall this brick is in used to be the main outside wall about 20 years ago).

Tonight I felt this brick and noticed that it was slightly damp, and with a tissue I could draw a tiny amount of water from it. i am 99% sure there are no water pipes running near this, and it seems this brick is right where a section of the electro-osmosis dampcourse (that we had installed about 4 years ago) ends (or begins depending on how you look at it). Whats strange to me is that this single brick, which is surrounded by other bricks all dry, would be damp, I can only associate this with general damp or perhaps the osmosis damp course, what also seems odd is how isolated this is, there doesn't seem to be much spreading... at least the darker patch doesn't seem any bigger than when I first spotted it.

Any opinions offered would be helpfull, thanks

 

[Freddie]

Could be a dirty brick tie transferring a small amount of damp from the outside wall

 

[bathjobby]

How tall is your dog ? 3 to 4 bricks high I wager.

It does sound odd. I'd be tempted to take it out and have a look see. Could be as Freddie says or if nothing seen, leave it out and put some tissue in the hole for a while, see what you get. If nothing, new brick.

 

[GingerNinja]

Thanks for the response.... unfortunately I don't have a dog and this is wall is inside the garage so it wont be a neighbours dog either, although that would make it a lot easier to explain

I'm interested your response was:
Could be a dirty brick tie transferring a small amount of damp from the outside wall

whats a "Dirty brick tie"?

Also this brick is essentially on the outside, if the garage wasn't there this brick would be on the outside wall which it was for about 60-70 years before the garage was erected. So far I don't have any of this damp being transferred to the inside.

 

[bathjobby]

Now I see that the brick is on the inside, a dirty tie probably doesn't explain it then. What was meant by that is, the metal ties that tie together the 2 skins of the wall have bends in them i.e. wall/\/\/\/\wall. The idea being that any damp in one wall cannot be transferred to the other via the tie as the bendy nature of the tie prevents the water travelling between the 2 (any water drops will fall off at one of the lowest points \/ of the tie). Sometimes the builders whilst building the wall drop mortar down the cavity which if it sits on the tie renders the \/\/\/ nature of the tie useless and water can traverse the cavity along the cemented tie.
I would still take the brick out and check as per my last update.

 

[Freddie]

Use a grinder to cut the mortar joints around the brick and then you have the munimum amount of work but lots of dust

 

[GingerNinja]

I must admit my lack of knowledge, I can understand what your are suggesting and I think thats a good place to start, however I wont have a grinder (I presume thats like a wheel saw?) is it possible to remove a brick like this by hand, or would it take forever?

 

[Freddie]

I must admit my lack of knowledge, I can understand what your are suggesting and I think thats a good place to start, however I wont have a grinder (I presume thats like a wheel saw?) is it possible to remove a brick like this by hand, or would it take forever?

Wheelsaw?---listen if you dont have a grinder then drill 8mm holes in the mortar all around the brick as many as possible it is quite easy as the mortar is soft, it you start hammering the brick out it can be quite destructive.

This is the best way and quite quick but not as quick as a grinder should take about 20 minutes

 

[TexMex]

The tool to remove the brick by hand is a plugging chissel Like this one (and a club hammer).

 

[GingerNinja]

I must admit my lack of knowledge, I can understand what your are suggesting and I think thats a good place to start, however I wont have a grinder (I presume thats like a wheel saw?) is it possible to remove a brick like this by hand, or would it take forever?

Wheelsaw?---listen if you dont have a grinder then drill 8mm holes in the mortar all around the brick as many as possible it is quite easy as the mortar is soft, it you start hammering the brick out it can be quite destructive.

This is the best way and quite quick but not as quick as a grinder should take about 20 minutes

Sorry I meant to say Circular Saw not Wheelsaw!!!! Mental block!!

 

[Freddie]

The tool to remove the brick by hand is a plugging chissel Like this one (and a club hammer).

I bet you i could beat you and cause less damage to the wall with a grinder and/or a drill and an 8mm masonary bit

 

[TexMex]

The tool to remove the brick by hand is a plugging chissel Like this one (and a club hammer).

I bet you i could beat you and cause less damage to the wall with a grinder and/or a drill and an 8mm masonary bit

Yer but, No but, yer but, no but, Most grinders use Electric, so they're not hand tools anyway, and drill bits are electric unless you put them in a hand brace but that would be mad cos if someone sees you from behind they might think that you're playing with your willy and call you w*nk*r

 

[big-all]

this is what an angle grinder looks like although this one is too small for the complete depth of cut
http://www.screwfix.com/app/sfd/sea...grinder&n=&pn=1&pd=1&pi=1&cn=1&cd=1&x=15&y=10

 

[Freddie]

The tool to remove the brick by hand is a plugging chissel Like this one (and a club hammer).

I bet you i could beat you and cause less damage to the wall with a grinder and/or a drill and an 8mm masonary bit

Yer but, No but, yer but, no but, Most grinders use Electric, so they're not hand tools anyway, and drill bits are electric unless you put them in a hand brace but that would be mad cos if someone sees you from behind they might think that you're playing with your willy and call you w*nk*r

Well i am always playin with my willie and the miss's always calls me a w****r