Thread: Chipped bricks

This is a new home and the bricks are chipped in many areas all the way around the home. There are two different bricks so I did not think it was likely a manufacturers defect, but I am not sure what it is. I told them to get a brick mason to look at it, but wondered if anyone has seen this and knows what it may be?

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Looks like rough handling of the bricks.
I have questions about the mortar gap in the stacked brick on the column.

I would think it is a result of the masons or tenders handling of the brick during installation. Or possible how the brick was handled in shipping and delivery.

Lack of attention to detail. Paid by the brick and the mason says he is not responsible for the brick he is handed, he just lays them. Lack of a supervisor catching it and making the mason tear out and redo. Or culling out damaged brick before used.

Once it gets past a certain point it is almost impossible to masons to go backwards.

In years gone by I have had run-ins with the mason crews on jobs. 4 masons 2 tenders 4 hours in to job had to tear out 2 hours of work and redo. It became real nasty when I call a halt to the work, they just wanted to argue.

I have found the same thing a few times. I was told by a person at a brick company that it could be caused by a few things, but the majority of the time is is by rough handling of the bricks by the masons. If you find the pieces of the chips on the ground then it is either environmental or a cheap brick that are spalling. Mexican bricks are known to do this.

Could the damage have been caused by scaffolding, such as letting the metal ends of the scaffold hit the wall?
The marks seem to be in clusters.

I thought rough handling right off the bat, but as I was looking closer I could not see mortar stains on the chipped out areas like they were either cleaned really well or the chips happened afterwards. I did not see the chips on the ground anywhere and there was no real pattern to suggest scaffolding.

In Texas we've had some problems with the brick that developers shipped up from Mexico. They don't kiln fire their bricks to the temperature standards that we do in the USA because it doesn't get as cold in Mexico so they don't worry about spawling from trapped moisture in the bricks....and they cost less

If it's bad bricks you'll see it on all of them. The photos make it look like it's just in one area.

Where are the weeps at the lintel?
Is there a through wall flashing at the lintel?

I agree with the rough handling. Oh, those great Oklahoma red clay bricks!The lentle over the garage header should be painted to prevent rusting.

What about pressure washing? Any idea if the home owner used one on the bricks at high pressure coupled with bad production standards.? Thought on that?

Mishandled.

As you can see, the chipping is located at the edge and corners. This would indicate poorly handled materials. This would not be considered a material defect.

Jim Cornish, CBI
Building Inspector

I don't agree with the prior posters who theorize the damage was due to handling "issues". I believe the majority of what is pictured presented after the brick was laid.

This to me looks like freeze/thaw damage to the brick. Possibly aggrivated by damages post installation. If this damage is limited to the face wall of the garage - then I'd suspect ball play damage, etc. For example during cold months, such as when folks roll out those portable basket ball backboards and shoot "hoops" with the garage as the backdrop from the driveway even on a sunny winter day. Another possiblity exists if the damage pattern extends beyond just the garage face, such as (F3-5) wind-driven debris - for example from a tornado.

Even if SW grade, this may occur with improper application & techniques for flashing, drainage, spacing, etc. Even the wrong mortar mix for the IRA, failure to use when necessary a special tested and proved blend and/or consistancy used for the particular characteristics of both the brick itself, and the temperatures/environment during installation and proper curing/bonding time.

I see the damage at locations expected when this is the case. I see some mortar shelf(s) under some of these areas indicating some voids in brick present were not voids when laid.

IIRC there have also been many seasons with major ice storms also in your locale these last several years.

See following attached.

"Mortar, Brick, and IRA"
"Tips on Using Glazed Brick"

Many hundreds of searchable articles at MasonryConstruction.com

My fireplace has some of this chipping. I never found a conclusive answer to this. But, what I did find for a possible cause was - a sealant was used that shouldn't be used on brick. In researching how to seal a marble bathroom that I made I found - One needs to be very careful of the sealer they use. The wrong one can fragment your brick or stone. I hope this helps. Good Luck. Tabb Jensen - Jensen Inspection - Dayton,Tn.