Posted: 9/18/2012 5:24:36 PM EDT
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I have an offer in on a house, and there's significant spalling on the brick which was pointed out by the inspector. Anyone have any experience with this? Is the house still good to go, or run away. I'm going to get an estimate on repair, but I'm looking for long term experience. thanks. This is the majority of the damage:         |
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Is that the actual brick, or a picture pulled off the net of spalling on brick? Is the brick structural or just a facade that is tied into the structure? |
| I'd get three or more contractors or bricklayers with a lot of brickwork experience to explain how they would fix that and how much it would cost. My fear would be either the bricks were not made right or were not installed right and the only long term fix is total replacement. Cosmetic repair that lasts a year or three is not the same thing as a permanent repair. |
Yep. I'm aware what spalling looks like. I thought you wanted an opinion on your house, not a random google image. 
I digress: How long are you planning on owning the house? Is every brick spalled? Just certain areas? Are they completely fractured/loose? Is it causing mortar failure? How old is the house? Does it look like the spalling is recent, or is there evidence of age on the fracture? Spalling isn't in and of itself a deal killer, IMO. Fairly common on older homes with poor quality brick. Answers to the questions above would help though. |
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Are there any fresh chips from the bricks on the ground near the house? I've used bricks that looked like that new which is why they were so cheap. They survived fine despite my poor masonry skills. Also, I've seen bricks that looked like that over fifty years ago that are still fine. I wouldn't be too concerned if there was no evidence of recent problems, but I would use it when trying to negotiate the price down.z
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Quoted: Yep. I'm aware what spalling looks like. I thought you wanted an opinion on your house, not a random google image. I digress: How long are you planning on owning the house? Long time Is every brick spalled? Lots and lots Just certain areas? More in some areas than others. Under eaves, top of chimney Are they completely fractured/loose? A couple in the eaves, but most are just the face Is it causing mortar failure? No How old is the house? '79 Does it look like the spalling is recent, or is there evidence of age on the fracture? Probably not all recent. Spalling isn't in and of itself a deal killer, IMO. Fairly common on older homes with poor quality brick. Answers to the questions above would help though. I'll get my house pictures in a bit. |
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Quoted:
Yep. I'm aware what spalling looks like. I thought you wanted an opinion on your house, not a random google image.
I digress: <snip> Spalling isn't in and of itself a deal killer, IMO. Fairly common on older homes with poor quality brick. Answers to the questions above would help though. It looks like it is occurring all over, and not near grade, so drainage/snow/whatever isn't causing the issue. Doesn't that leave poor quality brick as the culprit? Even if it can be repaired, won't it keep happening on that particular house? Kind of a brick whack-a-mole? |
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Quoted:
Quoted:
Yep. I'm aware what spalling looks like. I thought you wanted an opinion on your house, not a random google image.
I digress: How long are you planning on owning the house? Long time Is every brick spalled? Lots and lots Just certain areas? More in some areas than others. Under eaves, top of chimney Are they completely fractured/loose? A couple in the eaves, but most are just the face Is it causing mortar failure? No How old is the house? '79 Does it look like the spalling is recent, or is there evidence of age on the fracture? Probably not all recent. Spalling isn't in and of itself a deal killer, IMO. Fairly common on older homes with poor quality brick. Answers to the questions above would help though. I'll get my house pictures in a bit. Ok, I took a look at your pics. Those look like heavily sanded bricks, and it's not uncommon to have some spalling on houses that were built in the 70s with heavily sanded bricks. If the mortar isn't loose, I wouldn't be particularly concerned, even if you're going to live there a long time. IMO, I'd go by and check it out closer: What is the condition of the brick behind the spall? Is it seem pretty solid, no fractures? If so, you've probably got no significant long term issues. If it's soft and chalky behind the spall, then you might have cause for concern, but even then your options are limited. In any event, I'd use the inspector's report on the bricks as a negotiating tool, as somebody else posted. Good luck! |
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Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Yep. I'm aware what spalling looks like. I thought you wanted an opinion on your house, not a random google image. I digress: How long are you planning on owning the house? Long time Is every brick spalled? Lots and lots Just certain areas? More in some areas than others. Under eaves, top of chimney Are they completely fractured/loose? A couple in the eaves, but most are just the face Is it causing mortar failure? No How old is the house? '79 Does it look like the spalling is recent, or is there evidence of age on the fracture? Probably not all recent. Spalling isn't in and of itself a deal killer, IMO. Fairly common on older homes with poor quality brick. Answers to the questions above would help though. I'll get my house pictures in a bit. Ok, I took a look at your pics. Those look like heavily sanded bricks, and it's not uncommon to have some spalling on houses that were built in the 70s with heavily sanded bricks. If the mortar isn't loose, I wouldn't be particularly concerned, even if you're going to live there a long time. IMO, I'd go by and check it out closer: What is the condition of the brick behind the spall? Is it seem pretty solid, no fractures? If so, you've probably got no significant long term issues. If it's soft and chalky behind the spall, then you might have cause for concern, but even then your options are limited. In any event, I'd use the inspector's report on the bricks as a negotiating tool, as somebody else posted. Good luck! Even the parts that fell off were still solid, not chalky. Not any fracturing from what I could see on the spalled bricks, just coming off like shale. Definitely using it to negotiate. It's going to cost something to fix. Thanks for the help! |
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Quoted: Quoted: Yep. I'm aware what spalling looks like. I thought you wanted an opinion on your house, not a random google image. I digress: <snip> Spalling isn't in and of itself a deal killer, IMO. Fairly common on older homes with poor quality brick. Answers to the questions above would help though. It looks like it is occurring all over, and not near grade, so drainage/snow/whatever isn't causing the issue. Doesn't that leave poor quality brick as the culprit? Even if it can be repaired, won't it keep happening on that particular house? Kind of a brick whack-a-mole? Inspector said it would need to be sealed every couple years. There were two places at the bottom of the house that had it - near the back where some animal dug and water probably pooled, and in front under the stoop near the front door. |
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I'd get three or more contractors or bricklayers with a lot of brickwork experience to explain how they would fix that and how much it would cost. My fear would be either the bricks were not made right or were not installed right and the only long term fix is total replacement. Cosmetic repair that lasts a year or three is not the same thing as a permanent repair. I'd go with this. A local mason might have a lot of insight about the cause in addition to remedies. Some of those brick failures look like the spall has gone back into the mortar enough to allow water to get in. |
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Had a similar problem with the bricks on my chimney. Moisture, from condensation, was accumulating inside the chimney, migrating to the outside and will spall the brick. If you do not have a flue liner get one ASAP, this will stop the condensation problem. No amount of sealing the outside of the brick will help because the moisture is coming from the inside.
As far as the brick on the rest of the house, is appears to be reclaimed brick. No the all brick is the same; some is made for outdoor use and other specialty uses. Best bet is to seal it every year. Good Luck! |
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| We had similar damage to several bricks on our 1970 house. My wife and I replaced the damaged bricks and sealed it with a sealer recommended by the brick mfg. After about 20 yrs. I've had no more damage. The bricks are just a veneer and have no structural purpose. If any more are damaged on my house I'll probably ignore them. Cosmetic damage only. |