Why do brick spall?

[ekartal5]

Hey Will,

How about some of those 2-flats in Rogers Park north of Devon. Decayed brick and mortar practically on the sidewalks.

Erol Kartal

[mbryan]

No, Jay, just that the "help" you've given us was crap. Have a good and safe day all! Off to another day of inspections...

[Marcel R. Cyr]

Jay;
ABSOLUTELY not.

You are a great potential Member and still trying to invoke you in joining the Team at NACHI.
I believe you have the material and expertise to meet these qualifications.

Keep up the good work. Come and join us.

I will support the NACHI members, but also hope that since the NACHI board is free to all, that some knowledge from the Board will trickle down to Others.

Marcel



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[Marcel R. Cyr]

Thank you Michael;

Marcel

[Jay Moge]

Originally Posted by mbryan

No, Jay, just that the "help" you've given us was crap. Have a good and safe day all! Off to another day of inspections...

that hurts........your off my x-mas card list....doo doo head.

[Jim Sutton]

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

[Kenton H. Shepard, CMI]

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.

[jmichalski]

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!

[rwand1]

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.

[Rob Riley]

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?

[Kenton H. Shepard, CMI]

Originally Posted by mcyr

My two cents to the subject; this might help explain why bricks spall.
I would also try to help Jae in more learning. He is getting smarter by the minute. Here is more information for you Jae.


Durability. The durability of brick results from incipient fusion and partial vitrification during firing...


Marcel

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?

[Marcel R. Cyr]

http://flyashbricksinfo.com/construc...f-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:
1) incipient fusion, when the clay particles become sufficiently soft to stick together in a mass when cooled;
2) vitrification, when extensive fluxing occurs and the mass becomes tight, solid and nonabsorbent; and
3) 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.

[Kenton H. Shepard, CMI]

Ah-HAH. Good one, Marcel!

[Jae Williams]

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.

[Marcel R. Cyr]