How to stop bricks from crumbling?

drenai

hello

the brick walls along the side of my garage, both external and internal are crumbling away. no-one seems to know why beyond "a bad batch of bricks" I don't suppose there's any paint i can use to seal the bricks and stop it getting worse?

EricL

Hello @drenai

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community. It's marvellous to have you join us, and thanks for sharing your question about your brick wall.

Looking at the photos you've posted it appears that water infiltration has damaged the surface structure of your brick wall. Unfortunately, there is no telling how far the damage extends to inside the brick. Are the peeling surfaces soft and easy to peel or do they crumble when you touch them?

At this point in time, I suggest not sealing your brick wall until you've had your brick wall assessed by a professional brick layer.

My next query would be to see if the brick itself has become brittle and easy to push in. I propose using the tip of a crowbar to see if the brick is still structurally sound. Gently push the surface of the brick, and if the crowbar sinks on the surface, I suggest stopping.

If it does sink, I can only suggest having your brick wall repaired by a brick layer. They will be able to assess if the brick wall can still be saved or the entire structure will need to be demolished.

Let me call on our experienced members @Dave-1 and @Nailbag for their recommendations.

If you have any other questions we can help with, please let us know.

Eric

Dave-1

Good Evening @drenai

I was actually over a mates place last week and noticed his bricks getting crumbly, we had a discussion over it and the concensous was a bad batch of bricks. However I thought maybe he had scrapped them with his car causing them to crumble over time as he did admit taht he had scraped it.

Fast forward to your question and I didnt want to give an easy answer if it wasnt true. I googled it and a fair few posts came back with water issues, in particular wet surface dry and getting wet and cracking the surface of a brick and then once the "skin" is removed then the softer inside of the brick decays faster.

"'Spalling' refers to the breakdown of bricks such as cracking, peeling, crumbling or chipping, which eventually lead to the surface of bricks breaking away from the main body. The result is that the softer portions of the brick are left exposed to the elements, which can lead to further damage"

I would suggest a bricklayer would be the fist instance of repair, or pointing you toward swhat causes the crumbling. (mates place with the bricks crumbling have been like that for a decade at least so I wouldnt suggest a rush job) But something to solve. I am not sure if painting over the crumble would seal it enough tho mortar would be my preference if I had to choose.

Going through your photos brings a question to my mind, do you get a lot of rain or live near water? Some of the worn bricks looks like they have had longterm water spray? over them.

Dave

Nailbag

Hi @drenai @as both @EricL & @Dave-1 have identified the bricks are severely water damaged. Even if the cause is identified and stopped their structural integrity has been compromised. Though a bricklayer will be required, this will be at a later stage of the replacement and not a simple repair process. My first point of call would be to a domestic building engineer to establish probable cause and course of action.

Establish the cause and recommend a solution
How the building needs to be supported in order to remove all unsalvageable bricks
The reinstatement of the brick walls (brick layer)

please keep us all in the loop on how this plays out

regards Nailbag

drenai

Hi @EricL & @Dave-1 & .@Nailbag

Thankyou for your input. As per the pictures attached, the worst section of the wall is right next to a pool. there's only a narrow walkway between the pool and the wall and the concrete pavers here have been heavily pitted. after we bought the place, we noticed that the mortar between the bricks was crumbling to a very fine powder and falling out. you can see signs of these repairs in one of the photos.

We have been thinking of getting the pool removed, and that seems an even better course of action now.

Dave-1

Morning @drenai

Next to the pool changes some recomendations and potential reasons.

Bad news I would still get a brick layer to inspect those bricks.

Good news is those stains could be whatever they have used in and around the pool, looks like acid or salt stains. Maybe it started with high pressure wash with acid? It would be hard to tell but at least it heads in the way of what has caused the issue.

Dave

MitchellMc

Hi @drenai,

I agree with @Nailbag that you really need a structural engineer or a masonry repair specialist to assess the damage and suggest the best course of action to resolve it.

Mitchell

drenai

Yep for sure, i started contacting some today.