Brick Reparation Guide - How to Expand Brick Life?

Bricks are eco-friendly, aesthetically appealing, and one of the most durable building materials ever - numerable buildings are living proof. Unfortunately, although bricks weather well with time, poor brick repairs or lack of upkeep severely reduce brick life.

Cracks, chips, and other brick damage signs put your building project at risk.

Here at UK Brick, we frequently get asked about the best practices to maintain brickwork and make bricks last longer. We also offer an array of top-quality bricks that blend in and match your reparation project.

We love bricks, and we want to help you repair your bricks to augment brick life.

This guide for architects addresses our favourite recommendations to expand brick life and best brick maintenance practices.

Inspect brickwork health

It’s crucial to inspect brickworks at least once a year to check for common maintenance issues to prevent further complications. Key brick aspects to look after are:

• Damaged mortar joints – patch with new mortar as soon as possible to avoid water absorption.
• Moss - If the building receives no sunlight, it’ll likely result in moss, mould, or mildew because bricks are porous and retain moisture. It’s important to brush it off immediately. Many practitioners recommend mixing water and bleach for this purpose; however, be aware that bleach can damage the façade.
• Plant growth – plants and other veins adhere to the brick face, erode it, or even crack it. Don’t pull plants or veins directly from the brick; instead, we recommend cutting them as close to the soil and letting the plant fall off the brick naturally.
• Efflorescence – when water penetrates the brick, salt and other crystals may grow on the brick. This can be easily spotted on the face of the brick as a chalky cumulus. Often, efflorescence can be removed with a brush and, in the worst-case scenario, with other chemical agents.

What to do if brickwork has deteriorated?

Firstly, it's critical to figure out what's causing the damage.

We recommend restricting repairs to the bare minimum to preserve the building's authenticity and avoid brick decay associated with poor maintenance or unsuitable alterations.

However, it might be indispensable because of design deficiencies, craft or materials.

If bricks are severely damaged, cut out mortar with a chisel and replace them.

It can be challenging for architects to find replace bricks with the exact same characteristics (colour, texture, size…). That’s why our wide catalogue offers bricks for every project.

For better results, we recommend laying the replacement bricks with the same type of bond (i.e. hit and miss brick bond) as the initial construction. Further, leaving the replacement bricks to blend in naturally over time is preferable to attempt and tone them down.

In short, brickwork will only need to be taken down and rebuilt in extraordinary instances - where the building is too damaged or doesn’t meet safety requirements.

Is brick treatment good?

Different methods claim to protect your project bricks from dampness, moss, efflorescence, etc. Such as sealing brickwork with non-breathable sealants, treating brickwork with water repellent or tanking the interior of brickwork, among others.

However, brick walls are designed to breathe, allowing the construction material to dry out when dampness has penetrated.

Therefore, UK Brick and the Brick Development Association believe that using sealing, water repellent, and other treatments on your brickwork can shorten brick life. These brick treatment methods are unnecessary because UK Brick’s bricks are already well prepared for wheatear conditions.

Conclusion

Appropriate brick reparation is vital to expand brick life and maintain buildings.

Avoid brick treatments because these don’t let the brick breathe naturally and excavate brick health. On the other hand, the quality of our brick responds well against weather conditions - setting the market standard and being chosen by industry leaders.

Further, many experts now choose UK Brick’s bricks because of their design-led statement and premium Scandinavian clay. UK Brick have also one numerous awards like the ArchDaily Building of the Year Award.

The top-class Scandinavian clay used in UK Brick’s bricks embodies high quality, strength, cost-effectiveness, and sustainability to meet all artistic visions - making the perfect brick visually appealing and functional.

UK Brick is proudly renowned for being London’s leading brick supplier and sustainable pioneer for green building projects.

Don’t compromise. Build with UK Brick.

Explore our brochure and request a free sample or get a quote for your project.