Brick Facade Failure

What Makes Brick Facades Fail

• A brick facade is comprised of bricks held together by mortar. Certain forces can separate the mortar from the brick, resulting in cracks. If the structure around the brick facade wall settles over time, or shifts, it can cause cracks in the mortar. Rain can also seep through any small pores or fissures in loose mortar, which can erode the brick facade wall. Thermal expansion, or swelling of the bricks due to excessive heat from sunlight, is another issue that can cause cracks in the brick facade wall. Given enough stress, the bricks can separate all together, causing the brick facade to crumble and fall.

Replacing Bad Mortar

• You can prevent total brick facade failure by removing cracked mortar and replacing it. Use a hammer and chisel to carefully remove any damaged mortar. You can then prepare fresh mortar, according to the manufacturer's instructions, and use a trowel to fill the gap in the wall with fresh mortar. Scrape off the excess mortar with the side of your trowel. Allow the mortar to dry.

Replacing Bad Bricks

• If the cracks extend through any bricks, you should replace the bricks to restore the integrity of the brick facade. Once you have chiseled out the surrounding mortar, you can remove the brick. You can then prepare fresh mortar and use the trowel to apply the mortar on the bottom side of the fresh hole. After positioning the new brick in the center of the fresh mortar, you can fill in the rest of the hole with mortar and allow it to dry.

Brick Facade Maintenance

• Even the best brick facade won't last forever, but you can prolong the life of your facade by ensuring the structure has settled before installing the facade. You can also use a technique, referred to as tuckpointing, to take care of small holes or cracks that form over time in mortar to keep it intact. You can chisel out any broken mortar around the small crack. Then you can use a caulk gun with a mortar tube attached to squeeze out a small amount of mortar into the hole to fill it.