that hurts…your off my x-mas card list…doo doo head.
Michael:
Great article /response thanks. My house is twenty years old and I have moderate/extensive spalling on two brick chimneys so bad product definately existed in the LATE '80s here in northern Virginia.
Exterior brick spalling - I have moderate to extensive brick spalling on the two chimneys in my 20 year old house. The brick has been painted. Repainting to “seal” the brick hasn’t worked at all. The brick spalling flakes up 1/32nd-1/16th inch slabs of painted brick facia.
Some suggestions I’ve read to replace the spalled brick aren’t reasonable due to the amount of brick involved.
Would any of the masonry /brick breathable waterproofers work on this painted brick application? Would their be an industrial resin repair product that might be applied to stabilize the brick?
It does not appear to be a grout issue.
THanks;
Jim
In older structures some bricks were manufactured with a less durable coating because they were designed to be protected by paint. Stripping paint exposed soft brick to weather and accelerated deterioration.
Good info, Bryan. I often see the interior bricks (I have heard some masonry guys here call them “salmon” bricks) where adjacent row homes have been removed.
Hang in there, Marcel! Keep posting, and those who find value in it will keep benefitting!
Jim
Tell us more about the chimneys? What are they lined with? What type of heating system do you have? Are they even in use?
As I may have mentioned and you mentioned, you may be further a head replacing the chimneys. You can’t rule out that continued deterioration will not result in structural weakness.
I have some Flint Co. Pavers we installed on a sidewalk, and they have spalled in the summertime. No freeze thaw cycle. No direct water is draining over them. Any ideas on how this happened, and how to prevent it from continuing?
I thought vitrificaton and fusion were the same thing… separate clay particles turning into a homogenous, glass-like material. So isn’t incipient (early) fusion the same as partial vitrification?
“incpient fusion” means the process is just beginning, and “partial vitrification” means the same process is incomplete, but it’s the same process. No?
http://flyashbricksinfo.com/construction/manufacturing-of-brick.html/2
Clay, unlike metal, softens slowly and melts or vitrifies gradually when subjected to rising temperatures.
Vitrification allows clay to become a hard, solid mass with relatively low absorption.
Melting takes place in three stages:
- incipient fusion, when the clay particles become sufficiently soft to stick together in a mass when cooled;
- vitrification, when extensive fluxing occurs and the mass becomes tight, solid and nonabsorbent; and
- viscous fusion, when the clay mass breaks down and becomes molten, leading to a deformed shape.
The keyto the firing process is to control the temperature in the kiln so that incipient fusion and partial vitrification occur but viscous fusion is avoided.
:)
Ah-HAH. Good one, Marcel!
Incipient infusion I understand…“incipient” refers to the “early stages” of development, which would suggest the possibilty of spalling occurs at that point.
Either that, or it means my socks are on backwards again.
:mrgreen:
Lets not forget improper repair techniques.
When masons re-grout (tuckpoint)…the inexperience will use mortar too hard for the brick. Brick joints need to expand and contract. When the mortar is to hard the brick, they will spall and allow moisture to enter.
Don’t get me going on Convex joints (European style) vs flat or concave mortar joints
Convex pointing is for stonework.
I have never witnessed convex jointing on brick-bond.
It would be disposable to control the tuck, let alone time consuming.
Flush tucking is common practice in repointing during the early sixties and lasted 15 years in Quebec.
Concave was then the next profile we used in the 1970’s through 2000 and now weather joints or the reverse struck jointing.
Repointing is the correct term for repairing degraded or damaged masonry bedding and head joints.
Brick bedding is pointed when thumb tight as you lay your lines.
As for the mixture of cement to use ( not masonry ) in some repair mixes ( the average ) is the same ratio as for making ( cement masonry )
No more 3 part mix. The hydrated lime . 3 sand to one Portland type n.
You are right in assuming that if the batch is to stiff or **RICH **that it can have a spalling effect on certain clay brick.
I have witnessed **PRETEND:mrgreen: **masons mix 2 to 1 with type n and after 25 years not one brick is broken.
**ortland cement 94 lbs/cuft
Hydrated lime 40 lbs/cuft
Sand 80 lbs/cuft**
Glass block mix.
**Waterproof Portland cement 4.5 cuft
Hydrated lime 4.5 cuft
Sand 18 cuft
Total 27 cuft****Mason Work**
The five typical mortar mixes designated types M,S,N,O and K are labeled so because each is an alternate letter in the term MASON WORK in descending psi strength. These designations were assigned in 1954 and replaced the mortar designations A-1, A-2, B and C.
M 2,500 psi
A
S 1,800 psi
O
N 750 psi
W
O 350 psi
R
K 75 psi
Robert:
I will call you when I want to build my mansion on the hill!
Nice to see you teach new ones in an area you are well taught in.
I would sign up to your school of learning anytime you want to put it on the Internet.
Mortar is a sticky subject. Mortar is a bonding agent used in masonry and has various bonding strengths. It is a plastic mixture that consist of cement or lime, sand and water that hardens to bind bricks or stones.
Mortar has to be strong and durable and capable of keeping the masonry intact and help to create a barrier resistant defense.
There are many recipies for mortar. Take the proportional type S for examaple, One part cement (1 bag) ½ part lime ½ bag then you add up the volume and multiply by 3 which = 4.5 parts sand.
That mix would attain compressive strengths of 3,500-4000. That exceeds the compressive strengths of type M mortar.
By specifying a premixed mixture of type S property mortar, the methods change for the better and the formulation more closely follows the intended 1800 psi required.
The old days of manually mixing are gone.
Type M is intended for below grade brick installations such as basement walls and heavy load beary walls.
Type S mortar is used for above grade block construction and occassionally brick. I have used Type S mortar on brick for Dormitories before and even with a pressure washer, it was impossible to wash. Most Architects have gone away with this mortar because of its compressive stregths being to high and not bonding to the brick well.
Type in is used for brick construction. It is more flexural in movement and bonds well to the brick and the compressive strength is low compared to M and S mortars. Excellent for brick veneers.
Too strong a mortar tend to not move in a thermal dynamic plane properly as designed to do.
ASTM C 91 „Specification for Masonry Cement“ defines msonry cement as a hydraulic cement, primarily used in masonry and plastering construction consisting of a mixture of Portland limestone, hydrated or hydraulic lime, to enhance one or more properties such as setting time, workbility, water retention, and durability. „
Bond is the most important single property of a conventional mortar. If you have a hard brick, you have to design a mortar for it. A higher cement to lime ratio is required because the unit will not absorb much water. The opposite for a soft brick.
You have to follow the Building Codes and talk to an Architect to be able to choose the right mortar for the condition you are in.
In this area, a Type N is used for most mortars.
Having been a Commercial Superintendent for many years and responsible for our own Masonry Crews on the projects, I have learn many pros and cons about Mortars. An yes, there was a time where we had to mix our own.
Research, research, research. It pays to do it right the first time. Learning from others mistakes is cheap, learning from your own can get expensive.
Brick spalling can be prevented by following strict guidelines to Brick Construction Stantards.
Mortar Joints Certain types of mortar joints (concave and V type joints) are more weather resistant. Well-tooled joints compact the mortar, filling voids and cracks which could lead to water migration.
Masonry industry standards and procedures should be followed throughout the construction process to help eliminate potential for water penetration.
Properly tooled mortar joints compact the mortar, reducing cracks and improving bond. Additionally full head and bed joints are often prudent.
Breathable water repellents should be used so that internal moisture can escape. If moisture becomes trapped in the wall it can freeze causing severe cracking and spalling. Unfortunately, salts cannot as readily escape through some waterproofing materials. As these salts build up within the wall they may cause cracking and spalling of the brick.
Hope this helps. 
Marcel the ratio of ingredients used everything.
I stop using shovels 13 years ago and measure everything by volume and sand by its weight of moisture content if it was shipped onside to wet or dry for that matter.
Sand and there amount of particle’s of iron within the quarry can also play an important roll.
Dam new keyboard is touchy. sorry all.
Increased spalling and effervescences has been noted. I WILL LOOK FOR DOCUMENTED PROOF.
For years Robert, we used five gallon buckets instead of shovels, because the ratio was more consistant. Wet sand only needed adjusting the amount of water you had in your bucket.
If you did not watch you batching man, and he would get the batch wet, he would add more cement and through the mix through the roof on compressive strengths. Working for the Army Corps of Engineers, all our mortar was tested in a mortar cube mold, so there was no room for that kind of error.
Quality and performance inspections on our part played a critical role.
Wow what a keyboard. Man about to go out the frigging window.
Wet sand from my suppliers mean many things to me Marcel.
Time is money but the job has to have that minimum standard.
Bottom of a pile or batch means you may have mixed colors or grades.
You would have to screen it and the batch maker ( a labor with a hang over ) will mix a wet batch.
That means a pour job if I do not intervene.
The brickers will lay anything to get a friggen job going on a hot day.
It meant many things to me and excelled my becoming a mason when my foreman saw the amount of information I could deduce from a wet batch.
In 2 months I was crew chief then site supervisor and then apprentice. Six months latter. 30 men on site at times and I ran 6 crews.
Guys there 5 years were happy for me.
sorry I will charge my keyboard.
Marcel:
I guess you want to help build my mansion on the hill too!
sorry, did not read every post…was THIS brought up?
http://picasaweb.google.com/101049034584960315932/BasementWaterproofing56#5541715995940024114
http://picasaweb.google.com/101049034584960315932/BasementWaterproofing51#5497224161255278738
http://picasaweb.google.com/101049034584960315932/BasementWaterproofing08#5442177845271452082
So yer inside systems or xypex or playing with the stuuuupid grade does not,will NOT repair-fix these existing problems,leaks…never. But some keep-only recommend EXACTLY that and that is…incompetence…got milk?