ice damage to facing bricks
Discussion
Hi all and a Happy New Year
I have these red engineered bricks on top of my front wall and now the ice has gone I have noticed several have cracked due to the ice. Ther are also "shards" which have appeared as the ice has gotten inside. Unfortunately I never got round to treating them with any sealant.
Do I now have to cut out the damaged ones and seal? Or can I repair the ones with the shards (wishfull thinking I assume)
Thanks
Steve
I have these red engineered bricks on top of my front wall and now the ice has gone I have noticed several have cracked due to the ice. Ther are also "shards" which have appeared as the ice has gotten inside. Unfortunately I never got round to treating them with any sealant.
Do I now have to cut out the damaged ones and seal? Or can I repair the ones with the shards (wishfull thinking I assume)
Thanks
Steve
Steve if they've cracked from ice then they are not engineering bricks. One of the major points of an engineering brick is that it is non frost susceptible.
The idea is that are dense enough not to take up water and therefore nothing to crystallise / expand. Obviously treating them with sealants is superfluous.
You will probably find they are just a standard wirecut brick and probably weren't right for the job in the first place.
The idea is that are dense enough not to take up water and therefore nothing to crystallise / expand. Obviously treating them with sealants is superfluous.
You will probably find they are just a standard wirecut brick and probably weren't right for the job in the first place.
With enginerring bricks they dont need any treatment, hence they are used in manholes etc.
Having said that there is a slighty sub standard semi enginerring brick in builders merchants that have very fine cracks and chips in them that will always let water/frost in.
There is two types of Thompsons water seal, use the one coat that does masonry only.
Im guessing that semi-enginerring were used and not the solid enginerring bricks, cost reasons usually.
Having said that there is a slighty sub standard semi enginerring brick in builders merchants that have very fine cracks and chips in them that will always let water/frost in.
There is two types of Thompsons water seal, use the one coat that does masonry only.
Im guessing that semi-enginerring were used and not the solid enginerring bricks, cost reasons usually.
Steve H said:
Thanks Spudler<
I assume that if I had sealed the bricks with something like Thomsons brick sealer I would not have had this problem?
Steve
It could be rising damp which sealing the bricks won't stop. The bricks below the damp proof course in our house (which should be engineering bricks, don't know for certain if they are) do it.I assume that if I had sealed the bricks with something like Thomsons brick sealer I would not have had this problem?
Steve
There are 2 grades Class A and B, often characterised by being blue or red but that's not the case. Class A is higher compressive strength and even lower water absorption but both must meet a standard of F2 for frost resistance.
You will almost certainly have been sold lookalike Class Bs as most merchants actually sell a seconds grade wirecut that for all intents looks like one and passes off.
A proper perforated class B will not have firing cracks and still be non frost susceptible as long as the mortar used is the correct grade as well.
You will almost certainly have been sold lookalike Class Bs as most merchants actually sell a seconds grade wirecut that for all intents looks like one and passes off.
A proper perforated class B will not have firing cracks and still be non frost susceptible as long as the mortar used is the correct grade as well.
MOTORVATOR said:
There are 2 grades Class A and B, often characterised by being blue or red but that's not the case. Class A is higher compressive strength and even lower water absorption but both must meet a standard of F2 for frost resistance.
You will almost certainly have been sold lookalike Class Bs as most merchants actually sell a seconds grade wirecut that for all intents looks like one and passes off.
A proper perforated class B will not have firing cracks and still be non frost susceptible as long as the mortar used is the correct grade as well.
Ooooh, you're a brave man. If we tried that we'd have trading standards on us before the lorry got to the end of the road!You will almost certainly have been sold lookalike Class Bs as most merchants actually sell a seconds grade wirecut that for all intents looks like one and passes off.
A proper perforated class B will not have firing cracks and still be non frost susceptible as long as the mortar used is the correct grade as well.
Anything sold as seconds must be labelled/described as such before the customer gets the goods. Class B (as you correctly stated) are less water absorbing and have a lower crushing strength than Class A. btw, not all blue bricks are Class A, but only IIRC Accrington Nori made a Class A red, and that works no longer exists as a brickworks.
From memory, Elliotts Class B's always had cracks in them, didn't stop them passing Class B tests. Works (at Lepton, Huddersfield) no longer exists. They also had three holes in them, but then, so did a lot of works.
mrmaggit said:
MOTORVATOR said:
There are 2 grades Class A and B, often characterised by being blue or red but that's not the case. Class A is higher compressive strength and even lower water absorption but both must meet a standard of F2 for frost resistance.
You will almost certainly have been sold lookalike Class Bs as most merchants actually sell a seconds grade wirecut that for all intents looks like one and passes off.
A proper perforated class B will not have firing cracks and still be non frost susceptible as long as the mortar used is the correct grade as well.
Ooooh, you're a brave man. If we tried that we'd have trading standards on us before the lorry got to the end of the road!You will almost certainly have been sold lookalike Class Bs as most merchants actually sell a seconds grade wirecut that for all intents looks like one and passes off.
A proper perforated class B will not have firing cracks and still be non frost susceptible as long as the mortar used is the correct grade as well.
Anything sold as seconds must be labelled/described as such before the customer gets the goods. Class B (as you correctly stated) are less water absorbing and have a lower crushing strength than Class A. btw, not all blue bricks are Class A, but only IIRC Accrington Nori made a Class A red, and that works no longer exists as a brickworks.
From memory, Elliotts Class B's always had cracks in them, didn't stop them passing Class B tests. Works (at Lepton, Huddersfield) no longer exists. They also had three holes in them, but then, so did a lot of works.
As you say not all Blues are As and not all Reds are Bs, but more importantly not all engineerings are As or Bs.
What characterises a Class A or B falls either on the old BS or the newer EN standard. On the old standard the manufacturer didn't have to state a frost resistance, relying solely on absorbtion tests whereas under the new standard they do.
Pretty sure that a fissured brick could not meet that later standard and probably why the likes of Elliotts packed up. All a bit confusing as the standards for frost resistance of a facing brick and an engineering brick are quite removed from each other.
Number of perforations, frogs etc is irrelevant to the standard although mortar specification and workmanship do play a big part in the overall frost resistance of the final structure.
Changeover to the new standard should have been completed early 2006 but most suppliers still aren't up to speed. Which is why we still get sold class Bs that aren't Class Bs if you see what I mean.
The decent contractor will know the difference and take whichever suits the exposure of the work.
The owner of Elliott's (no relation) was renown as being, shall we say, tight. Their lorries were the oldest (by at least 8 years) to any other works that came to deliver; in fact, they were working when they should have been at steam rallies in the preserved diesel traction section.
We do get offered seconds B's and we do sell them, but as seconds. We'd always recommend that you used blues as copings, unless the red you're using is designed for the purpose, ie double cant or double bullnose specials, and these would be free from cracks.
As was said earlier, remove and replace, don't try to repair.
We do get offered seconds B's and we do sell them, but as seconds. We'd always recommend that you used blues as copings, unless the red you're using is designed for the purpose, ie double cant or double bullnose specials, and these would be free from cracks.
As was said earlier, remove and replace, don't try to repair.
Quite common for reject facings to be used in footings, but they should be replaced by class B or similar if they are exposed below DPC, but it's often missed.
Which is what they've done on our bungalow. Yet there are class B's in the bottom of the garage walls, above the DPC, even though there is no contact with the soil bank alongside.
No wonder the builder went bust.
Which is what they've done on our bungalow. Yet there are class B's in the bottom of the garage walls, above the DPC, even though there is no contact with the soil bank alongside.
No wonder the builder went bust.
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