Spalled Brick Advice

[JamToday]

My mum's house has a number of spalled bricks (these from the chimney breast).

Some are also going below damp proof course in some areas.

My dad got the gable end rendered when he was alive because it got so bad.

The house is 30-odd years old, and the bricks seem to be crap, to be fair.

What should I do to prevent this happening? I am assuming I should replace spalled bricks, but should I also look to treat the walls as well?

 

[berty3000]

Are the bricks being regularly soaked through for some reason, which then leaves them more vulnerable to freeze-thaw action?

Could be a leak of some kind. Looks like there's some kind of moisture issue going on based on the patterns and colours at that corner.

 

[JamToday]

My Mums neighbour has kindly sent more pics...

It looks like it's from the roof, Do you have any idea what is most likely issue?

 

[berty3000]

Is that thing a chimney?

Perhaps water is leaking down the inside walls of it from the top, and soaking particular areas of the masonry from the inside out - possibly where the water reaches an obstacle inside. Then the freeze thaw process happens. The top of the chimney probably has a surface of mortar around a pot or flue. If that has been breached, water could be leaking down from there. Best if a roofer takes a look?

 

[Ollyfp]

It could be because that area is exposed to the prevailing winds and driving rain. As Berty3000 suggests, get the chimney and roof looked at first! It appears to me that your mortar is harder than your bricks, which isn't good. The mortar should be the sacrificial element.
You can have the affected bricks cut out and replaced with similar. Once this is done, you could also consider using Bostik masonry cream to mitigate further water damage.
For the record, I replaced around 400 badly spalled soft reds in my previous home. We had the entire building repointed with a lime mortar and then a year later I coated the walls with masonry cream, which is designed to prevent water ingress whilst still allowing the bricks to breathe. This worked very well for us.
All the best!

 

[berty3000]

It could be because that area is exposed to the prevailing winds and driving rain. As Berty3000 suggests, get the chimney and roof looked at first! It appears to me that your mortar is harder than your bricks, which isn't good. The mortar should be the sacrificial element.
You can have the affected bricks cut out and replaced with similar. Once this is done, you could also consider using Bostik masonry cream to mitigate further water damage.
For the record, I replaced around 400 badly spalled soft reds in my previous home. We had the entire building repointed with a lime mortar and then a year later I coated the walls with masonry cream, which is designed to prevent water ingress whilst still allowing the bricks to breathe. This worked very well for us.
All the best!

What did you think of the masonry cream? Did it perform as expected in terms of repellency and breathability? Did you put it on the bricks below DPC?

 

[Ollyfp]

What did you think of the masonry cream? Did it perform as expected in terms of repellency and breathability? Did you put it on the bricks below DPC?

I've used Thompson's Waterseal in the past, but having read the 'science' behind the Permaguard and Bostik creams, I decided to pay the extra and literally brush it over the entire house. The soft red bricks used to change colour as they absorbed the damp and they would hang wet for weeks on end during wet spells. After treating with masonry cream, the water just ran off the bricks as if they were engineering bricks. I monitored this over the two further years we lived there and there was no change in the resistance to water. As for the 25 year protection guarantee, well who knows? Lol

 

[Ollyfp]

Oh, and yep, I went below the dpc and even coated the splash courses where accessible. I'm like that.

 

[berty3000]

And all was well inside, ie. Humidity able to escape out through the walls and the masonry cream?

 

[Ollyfp]

And all was well inside, ie. Humidity able to escape out through the walls and the masonry cream?

Yes, super dry. It was early cavity wall construction with no infill and all new windows had trickle vents. I'll see if I can find a photo...

 

[Ollyfp]

 

[berty3000]

Nice house! Looks very modern to me.

 

[Ollyfp]

Nice house! Looks very modern to me.

Thanks! It became a labour of love and stole my soul, but other than that it was easy. Ha! The build date was 1951. We converted the roof from standard verge to parapet with dental courses, which made it look slightly ecclesiastical... to me at least. All the spalled bricks were painstakingly cut out with an angle grinder and with all the red dust it was like living on Mars for 3 months. The neighbours loved us soooo much! Lol