How to repair spalling brickwork.

Spalling brickwork is a problem for many householders especially if the bricks in question happen to be soft reds as these are more prone to the effects of weathering and they are not very resistant to frost. The rain penetrates these bricks which tend to absorb it like a sponge and when it freezes it blows the face off of them, causing spalling. Other bricks, such as london stocks are far more robust and not so vulnerable to frost as are the soft reds. Also a lot of pointing, if done with a strong sand and cement mix tends to prevent the drying out process through the joints (where its supposed to happen) so it does so through the bricks causing the unsightly spalling of the face of the bricks.

The only cure for spalling bricks is to take them out completely (which is not so difficult) and replace them one by one. This should be done carefully by drilling holes around the brick thereby isolating it, and not damaging the surrounding bricks. If you are not sure what type of brick it is and want to match it up exactly with existing,then simply take a sample down to Travis Perkins and they will find you an exact match as they have an extensive brick library at most of their branches (at least they do at their West End Lane West Hampstead branch)

When you have found the correct match it is simply a question of inserting the bricks so the align correctly with their neighbours and then pointing them so that they blend in with the surrounding brickwork. They may not blend in exactly straight away until the weathering effect takes place, but after a few months they should look just fine.

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