How To Repair Crumbling Red Bricks for A Strong Wall For Life?

You may have a beautiful house and take pride in being able to maintain it too. But what you also worry about are the times when the red bricks start crumbling. These crumbling of bricks are common with time and may appear by the sides of the door frames or on the lower skirts or edges of the walls. These could also appear around the water pipes or drainage systems.

What Causes the Crumbling

You may see these red bricks crumbling when the wall gets direct exposure to the lashing rains. The paint may corrode off, leading to the disclosure of the red bricks. Moisture entering the wall due to rain or proximity of some water source may cause this type of brick crumbling to happen. Among the other reasons, water from damp soil may also seep into the walls causing these bricks to crumble. Also, the bricks might, with time, just crumble or crack due to frost and defrosting.

Ways to Fix the Crumbling of Bricks

· Tuck Pointing: Many people simply do a tuck pointing work wherein they just use patching over the old mortar without removing the crumbling bricks. It may just not be doing any permanent solution. It is excellent for replacing a single or a couple of bricks on the wall for replacement.

· Remove Loose Mortar: It is one of the essential moves to do when repairing the wall. Any loose mortar, and you can remove it with the help of a thick brush. Don’t scratch the surface of the brick. Instead, remove anything loose to get a perfect space and idea for you to go ahead with the repair work. To do this, you may also use a sharp tool to make an incision of around ¾ of an inch.

· Splash some Water: Splash or spray some water in the area where you wish to apply the new mortar. The old mortar may draw all the water from the new mortar if you use it without splashing some water. When you splash the old affected area with water, you soak it for at least a day. Once again, before application drench the area with water.

Have small batches of mortar mix ready only for covering up a small space. The re pointing trowel is the tool to use for the application of the mortar in the joints. Apply a layer, wait for 30 minutes before applying the second layer evenly. Then the third layer and remove any mortar in excess. The slurry should not be too thin as water nor too pasty in its consistency. Also, try to remove lumps while mixing to avoid any problem of fixing.

· Replace the Bricks: Some may use a fresh set of bricks to replace the old ones. You may try to put the old bricks if it is not entirely damaged too. Whatever you do, make sure to understand its condition before using the same.

Do not take the crumbling of bricks lightly if it is happening across various parts of the house. More than damaging the exterior aesthetics, it may even weaken the wall overall if it goes unchecked.