Maintaining Your Property: House Brickwork
Surface damage on brickwork is
caused by water soaking into the
bricks on an outside wall,
freezing at night as the
temperature drops, and then
expanding and cracking and
peeling off the brick surface.
As with most household repair
jobs, the faster you act to
repair any damage, the more money
you will save in the long run. It
is important to repair small
cracks immediately before more
water gets in and damages a
bigger area. Remember to repair
the cause of the damage, such as
a leaking roof or gutter and
allow bricks to dry out, before
attempting to fix damp brickwork.
The only repair for surface
peeling on brickwork is to
replace the damaged bricks, or if
large numbers of bricks are
affected, to consider a fresh
render of the wall surface.
Leaking roofs, gutters or
downpipes can cause bricks to
absorb water. Signs of this
dampness include green algae
growing on a exterior wall, or
wallpaper that won't stay pasted
onto an interior wall, which may
also have black mould growing on
it.
Water absorption between bricks
may be prevented by repointing,
which is the process of removing
any loose mortar and putting
fresh mortar into the gaps. It is
important that this pointing
layer is in good condition as it
holds the bricks in place and
protects the wall from water.
Render is a brickwork covering
composed of sand and cement. It
gives protection to brickwork
from rain and provides a smooth
finish to exterior and interior
walls. Rendered surfaces, both
outside and inside, are also
often painted to protect them
from weathering and to help keep
walls tidy and attractive.
If you notice a single large
crack or a succession of smaller
cracks between the bricks of any
wall, you may have a problem with
the foundations of your home. In
this case professional advice
from a house builder or surveyor
is absolutely essential.
To prevent water in the soil
under your house rising up into
the walls, builders use a damp
proof course. The DPC is composed
of a thin strip of plastic, a
course of engineering brick or
slate, or a layer of bitumen. You
can usually see the edges of this
strip sticking out about half an
inch on the base of the house
walls.
Older houses may not be fitted
with a DPC and these are often
retrofitted to homes using an
injection process. Similarly a
damp proof membrane is used under
a concrete floor. It is essential
to prevent water finding an
alternative path from the ground
into your walls, so avoid
building paving or paths higher
than the line of the DPC and
don't pile up rubbish or soil
against walls.
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