Noticing this type of damage and repairing it quickly is important as this type of damage indicates deterioration in the brick wall and susceptibility to water penetration.
Crumbling bricks in attic.
Age of the brick.
An improperly vented attic will have higher humidity levels.
Sealing is usually the first course of action to help stabilize a crumbling interior brick wall that is otherwise in good condition.
The moisture in the air will degrade the bricks over time as well as the mortar that holds the bricks together.
Scrape out all crumbling mortar and fill the gap with a mix approximating the original mortar composition.
Crumbling mortar in brick walls and chimneys has to be cut out and replaced to avoid structural and water damage.
Rising damp usually occurs in masonry.
Tuckpointing cleaning out and remortaring the joints is easier than it looks if you have the right tools.
Use a narrow pointing trowel to reduce mess and work on a warm day to improve drying time.
Replace any damaged or broken bricks with new ones of the same size.
This is the most common reason for the degradation of bricks in an attic.
Many things contribute to spalling bricks but the most common source of damage is water.
Crumbling masonry joints start out ugly and then things get uglier fast.
Chimneys are often positioned in exposed areas of the roof and crumbling can occur due to weathering even if other brickwork around your.
If you have damp patches bubbling paint crumbling plaster or powdery deposits on wall surfaces close to the floor rising damp is probably the culprit.
The flaking surface is a classic example of spalling a type of failure caused by moisture and the freeze thaw cycle.
Continue reading below our video of the day.
The brick retaining wall shown above is falling apart and it s too late to save it.
There are many different kinds of masonry sealers on the market.
When too much water becomes trapped inside of masonry structures it causes what is known as the freeze thaw cycle to occur.
It is not uncommon for brick chimneys to crumble with age.