Faults

Cracks.

Patching brickwork is rarely successful, unless it is just for a brick or two, on larger renovation work it is usually better to take down the brickwork and relay it.

You can try to patch up a crack in the brickwork, but in most cases you will be wasting your time.
If the crack has appeared because the ground has dried out, once the ground gets wet again it will try to get back to where it used to be.
If you have bogged up the crack with mortar in the attempt to fix it and the ground swells again due to moisture, you will find that the extra mortar in the joint will actually push the brickwork above the crack, upwards.

Efflorescence.

The picture below is of brickwork that has been effected by salt attack, this has been caused by the damp course failing and letting salt laden moisture travel out of the ground and up into the brickwork.

The salt can be seen as the white powder at the base of the brickwork.



To remedy the problem a new damp course has to be put in, either a physical barrier type or a chemical one.


The physical barrier requires the removal of some bricks in a sequence, say 5 at a time, a damp course is put in then the bricks replaced.

See the picture below for more info.
Remove the bricks that are highlighted.
Once the replaced bricks have set, another sequence is done next to the last lot.
Multiple sequences can be done at one time say 5 bricks,
leave 5 bricks then another sequence of 5 bricks etc. etc.




A chemical damp course is inserted via holes drilled into the bricks, this method is much easier to do
as all you need is a hammer drill, some masonry bits, and the chemicals.
The chemicals come as a kit with full instructions.

The cost for both methods is roughly the same.
The physical barrier method is very labour intensive, but the material prices are low.
The chemical method saves time in labour costs but the chemicals are expensive.

I prefer the chemical method myself, I have used this product in the past with good results.

Once the dampcourse has been fixed, the wall in the picture is in need of repointing and a few bricks need replacing.


Also see, Flashing.

Failed Foundations.

Cracks in brickwork are due mainly to foundation failure, which can be caused by the ground drying out, or subsiding.
Bad site preparation is another cause for foundation failure.

Tree roots can also cause brickwork failure, I'm not sure if its from the force of the roots, or the effect of the roots drying out the surrounding soil.
I have a feeling it's from the drying effect of the roots.
But the remedy is the same in that you will have to re-do the brickwork and rectify the cause.

Water Damage.

The water damaged brick work was the result of a leaky down spout that was left unfixed, the bricks from yesteryear were far softer that today's bricks.
The brick underneath the eroded ones have been rendered.



Failed Arch.
The arch seems to have failed due to the pipe the comes out of the wall just above it, there must have been a damp problem because a newer vent has been inserted into the wall probably to get rid of the dampness.

Someone has attempted to fix the arch, but they bogged up the top rather than propping the arch and inserting wedges from the bottom of the arch.

There are no water stains on the wall which seems is a bit odd.

Bad Repairs.

This bad cement wash repair was someone's attempt at repairing soft or eroded brickwork, the good thing is that the cement wash has preserved the brickwork so proper restoration can be done at a later date.

Various faults.

No Lintel
Here is a job where someone had taken down brickwork without putting in a lintel.
Im surprised the brickwork held up, it had been like it for years apparently.
I repaired it by inserting a lintel and forcing mortar grout into the lintel.
The opening is about 3 Metres wide.