Replace or Repair?

[Marc]

I'm on the fence on this one. It's got me nervous and I want to help this Calgary client. What say you?

About 5 or 6 dozen bricks damaged, at least, and the house is only 11 years old.

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Thanks

Marc

[kurt]

Is that reclaimed brick? Even if it's not reclaimed, it's soft brick and hard mortar. Bad combo. This will continue, and get worse.

[Les]

I agree with Kurt.

Reclaimed brick requires skill and there does not seem to be any skill evident on this job.

If that were in Michigan it would have a remaining life of months!

I don't think it can be fixed in place.

[Marc]

If you will excuse a stupid question: what is reclaimed brick? Is it recycled brick? If so, no, this isn't reclaimed. It's an upscale area in a large community designed to mimic late 18th century New Orleans architecture.

The aged look was built into the brick.

Marc

[Mike Lamb]

If it's new brick they did a good job making it look old.

There are companies in Chicago and elsewhere that sell millions of used bricks all over the country. Reclaimed brick won't have holes in it.

[gtblum]

If you will excuse a stupid question: what is reclaimed brick? Is it recycled brick? If so, no, this isn't reclaimed. It's an upscale area in a large community designed to mimic late 18th century New Orleans architecture.

The aged look was built into the brick.

Marc

How did you find that out? Is the manufacturer local?

It sure does look like someone salvaged a school or factory demo.

[AHI in AR]

My dad was a home builder and I cleaned thousands of brick like that as a kid in the summers of the late 60's and very early 70's as old buildings were torn down. Sittin' in the sun with a trowel and a mason's hammer. What fun! The brick was simply called "used" back then and it was cheap; now it's highly sought after. I'm pretty real sure that's used brick you've got. Look closely and you can see old mortar still on it. You will probably find some old splotches of paint and roofing tar elsewhere on the house.

In a Southern climate it deteriorates pretty slowly. You can find any number of houses around here that are 40 years old or more that look just like that. Honestly, what concerns me most is the last photo of the horizontal crack. Looks like the wall is buckling outward.

[kurt]

Maybe bowing, maybe just jacking up.

Those could be "new", but they're garbage if they are. All the fake commons I see are nasty punk; I wouldn't use them to build a compost container, let alone a house.

It's just a couple photos, so knowing for sure is hard to say, but that's a house that's going to experience the heartbreak of psoriasis in some number of years.

Glacial pace, but glacial force; they come apart.

[Marc]

The last photo has a touch of optical illusion...it's a fence wall. Not bowing.

It would take dozens of schools worth of reclaimed brick to meet the demand that's been here for the last ten years or so. There's no brick manufacturing facilities around here that I know of. I don't where it came from but it far too much material to be reclaimed. There's hundreds more like this one in this same community. Google 'River Ranch, Lafayette, La'.

Thanks fellas. Your input puts me at ease. I asked the client to visit this thread.

Marc

[Les]

Hey Marc, Used or reclaimed brick is available in very large quantities. Sure does not look like new stuff to me.

Regardless, it is a concern and I'd need lots of persuading to give it my blessings.

[John Kogel]

I would suggest calling a local mason. Your clients will need one anyway.

Maybe it's a new faux brick that only appears to be falling apart? []

Any brick chips on the ground?

[Marc]

I'll check it out Les. Could be right.

John, I gave the client several local names and encouraged him to contact more than one because if he contacts only one and that one turns out to be the same contractor that did the job 11 years ago, that contractor will never tell the truth...unless he's couillon. Come to think of it, we do get those types around here. []

I don't what the dickens I'd do without this forum.

Marc

[kurt]

Upon closer look, I'm thinking those things are faux reclaimers. Those are the under fired version of clinker's, and are a fashion with certain designers ignorant of good masonry practices.

That neighborhood is going slowly to blazes; people will start smearing mortar all over everything thinking it's a repair.

[Marc]

Upon closer look, I'm thinking those things are faux reclaimers. Those are the under fired version of clinker's, and are a fashion with certain designers ignorant of good masonry practices.

That neighborhood is going slowly to blazes; people will start smearing mortar all over everything thinking it's a repair.

Sounds more like it but I'll still check on it.

Marc

[Rob Amaral]

Houston.. you have a problem there... That last photo kind of says it all..