# Forum Home Renovation Brickwork  Brick Mite?

## jzell67

I have a problem with my brick veneer house. 
Some of the bricks have started to crumble. 
I have been told by some builders/brickies that it will cost from $9k to $13k to fix the problem which is apparently rising damp/salt damage. 
The other day a brickie said it was brick mites and the bricks just needed pressure sprayed and rendered. 
Do brick mites actually exist. Because i cant find any info on them.  :Doh:

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## danielhobby

someone is pulling on your foot matey

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## autogenous

Pictures please 
It may be the mortar is fretting then ants exasperating the issue. 
If the bricks are still in place, a good hose down of the dust prior and 2 coats of render will be the solution.

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## jzell67

> Pictures please 
> It may be the mortar is fretting then ants exasperating the issue. 
> If the bricks are still in place, a good hose down of the dust prior and 2 coats of render will be the solution.

  Interesting as the builder did say he would pressure spray it then render. 
Arrgh!!! Its so confusing!!! 
I will put up some pics on the weekend as im not able till get them until then but some of the bricks are looking very flakey. 
Thanks for the info  :Smilie:

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## autogenous

_
I will put up some pics on the weekend as im not able till get them until then but some of the bricks are looking very flakey. _ Aged bricks will do that over time, especially really old ones. If the actual bricks are fretting then best render it to prevent problems in other areas.

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## jzell67

> Pictures please.

  Here you go. Looks worse then i remember...  :No:  
The pics with the blue rock are from the side of the house and the others are along part of the front of the house.

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## autogenous

Major break down via through rising damp.  It looks like they're never dry.   
Is the water very corrosive because it looks it? 
The way that's eating the mortar; render may not be the total answer.   
The water appears for ever present; where do you live? 
It looks like you need better soil drainage 
Do you have reticulation up against the house?   Is it bore water? 
If so, the water direction and quantity needs to be reduced dramatically.  You need the water to run away from the house.

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## jzell67

The house is in Quakers Hill, NSW. 
The soil on the side of the house is very high and runs towards the house  :No:  
Im currently in the process of digging the excess soil and clay out so it runs away from the house. I cant go down too far though as the fence will drop. Im also digging a trench and agg piping and blue rocking it. 
I did put in an agg pipe 10 years ago but a builder said i put it too close to the house  :Doh:  
Would the ecofans help much... Im worried cause of the clay it gets too dry... 
So i suppose this means i can discount the brick mite then...  
Anybody know any good builders/brickies in NSW??

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## Bloss

Autogenous is on the money - classic dampness problem. No point getting a brickie until you have solved where the water is coming from and stopped it from getting onto your footings and brickwork. There are 'injectable' rising damp solutions available as kits and there are companies that will come and do the job for you. In this instance you should be able to prevent the damp your self - start by clearing way all soil etc adjacent to a a bit of the worst area so you can see the concrete footing and work out if it is constantly wet. Proper drains and ag pipe to direct water away will work even in very wet climates. When you get the moisture problem sorted then you can scrape and re-bed the mortar joints.

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## jzell67

> When you get the moisture problem sorted then you can scrape and re-bed the mortar joints.

  Are you saying the bricks dont need replacing? 
The damp proof has obviously done its job by stopping it where it is but i would of thought i would have to replace the bricks?

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## Major

We have what looks like exactly the same brick and have some of this on a minor scale to you. We live in Canberra and it is a dry climate so not sure about the damp being the problem. I tend to think it is salt related more so than damp but don't have a answer yet. I do know this brick was not common and is from a mix that was some wht incomplete (not sure if this contributes at all). also ours appears about 3 years ago and it may be coincidence but 9 months eariler we had the outside of the house sprayed for spiders and I hold some resevations if this has triggered some thing. THis brick has a high content of coal, again is this some thing. I sealed a couple with just paint sealer to dry with minor success, but now this is not the anwser. I am thinking of finding a lab that can test a brick if I remove one. So will let you  know how this goes.
I have seen other comments else where but not sure if they are conclusive.

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## autogenous

_THis brick has a high content of coal _ Shale? 
Because the bricks have fretted to the damp course line me thinks some things in the water.

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## Bloss

> We have what looks like exactly the same brick and have some of this on a minor scale to you. We live in Canberra and it is a dry climate so not sure about the damp being the problem. I tend to think it is salt related more so than damp but don't have a answer yet. I do know this brick was not common and is from a mix that was some wht incomplete (not sure if this contributes at all). also ours appears about 3 years ago and it may be coincidence but 9 months eariler we had the outside of the house sprayed for spiders and I hold some resevations if this has triggered some thing. THis brick has a high content of coal, again is this some thing. I sealed a couple with just paint sealer to dry with minor success, but now this is not the anwser. I am thinking of finding a lab that can test a brick if I remove one. So will let you  know how this goes.
> I have seen other comments else where but not sure if they are conclusive.

  Salt deposit on bricks related is always damp related - and this is common in various places in the ACT and in dire places such as Wagga. Can be made worse by certain types of brick and mortar though as well as the local water. http://www.saltdamp.com.au/abouts1.html
I am assuming by 'coal' you mean they are 'clinker style bricks' which have dark brown or black glassified bits in them. These were common in the 70s and are still used. These are fired at the outside of kilns - my Dah though it a funny fad as clinkers were thrown away because as well as being discoloured from excess heat they were often distorted from the uneven firing.

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## Bloss

> Are you saying the bricks dont need replacing? 
> The damp proof has obviously done its job by stopping it where it is but i would of thought i would have to replace the bricks?

  Generally the bricks will not need replacing, but that depends on how badly they have been affected. Often they have weakened only a little way in so once the damp problem is fixed then re-pointing with mortar is all that is needed. The bricks in a veneered house are not load bearing - they hold only the bricks above them not the house structure - they are a 'skin' with the timber frame carrying the structural loads. Of course they might look pretty horrible if the edges are crumbled away. The other way is to fully render the bottom courses up to the damp course - again only so long as the initial source of damage is fixed.

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## jzell67

> Generally the bricks will not need replacing, but that depends on how badly they have been affected. Often they have weakened only a little way in so once the damp problem is fixed then re-pointing with mortar is all that is needed. The bricks in a veneered house are not load bearing - they hold only the bricks above them not the house structure - they are a 'skin' with the timber frame carrying the structural loads. Of course they might look pretty horrible if the edges are crumbled away. The other way is to fully render the bottom courses up to the damp course - again only so long as the initial source of damage is fixed.

  Thanks for the repies... i have finally started to do something about this problem... 
The bricks arent any worse and i have slowly been digging the soil away from the house to try and find where the water is coming from but have had no luck yet.... 
They do sound like "clinker" bricks as they have specks of black glassy stuff in them. 
Good to hear the house wont fall down as it is only brick veneer. The brickies have been scaring me with walls falling down and 10k brickwork needed... yikes...

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