Master Masonry

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Problems with Newer Brick Homes.

 

Many builders in this area of Texas still have no clue how to build durable, long lasting homes.  My father once told me many years ago, Everything starts with the foundation.  "If the foundation is not built right, nothing above it will be right, ever."

As developers buy up farm land, the have large excavating companies come in and terrace the ground to give it more appeal, sometimes building up ground levels 20-30 feet higher than they originally were.  Without giving this ground time to settle, they're pouring slab foundations within days.  They say that they compact the ground with heavy machinery and that it's compacted as much as possible.  Due to perhaps the lack of a basic physics class they don't understand the principles of time and pressure on soil compaction. 

This single fact has resulted, and will continue to result in the demise of many many beautiful Texas homes. 

   

One primary issue to bring up is why we Texans have such fancy brick homes.  There are a three primary reasons.  (1) We have seen the the 100 plus year old Northern homes still in pristine condition and want to replicate the look of a solid long lasting home.  (2) Many Texas city ordinances call for 80-90% of a homes exterior the be brick to maintain home values and reduce insurance cost.  and (3) The masonry labor force in Texas is the cheapest around.  The problem with this desire for so much masonry of our homes is we don't have the stable ground soil they have in the Northern regions.  Many regions of Texas have very contracting and expanding soils.  A single foundation repair company in Ohio for example would have a tough time staying open for business.  Here in Texas we have literally hundreds of foundation repair companies.  Just open your phone book.        

If you've reached this page, you're probably doing some research on current problems you may have with your home, or looking to avoid problems before building your brick veneer home.  I've highlighted the primary areas on newer homes that typically fail and in which case the homeowner ends up calling us.

 

Archways are an area that keeps up busy.  Many builders continue to build what is called a segmental or eyebrow arch.  To learn the problems associated with these arches, see our page on Arch Repair.

Bay corners are very popular on many Texas homes and they do allow for a nice view when encompassing a dinning room.  On a more negative side, many of today's self taught, overnight masons build them incorrectly, allowing this poor construction to take away a considerable amount of strength from the corner as they incorporate straight vertical seams at the corner edges.  Many brick manufactures make angled brick for just this purpose but builders normally don't use them as it increases cost and borders on fussy brickwork for the masons.  If your home design calls for bay corners, insist the brick are interlocking angled brick, or at least interlocking.  If your home is already built, inspect them regularly as they will usually develop vertical mortar cracks with only the slightest structural shifting .  We repair hundreds of these each year but this tuckpointing mortar repair is not always a long-term permanent repair.  If the structure shifts again, the cracks will return.

Columns are common in many brick homes and if constructed correctly, will do just fine.  A stable foundation is the key ingredient.  Problems typically arise from side forces applied to it from the home structure, tree roots and soil settlement.  Narrow columns should never be built to support segmental archways. 

Expansion Joints are critical to a homes construction.  Walls longer than 30 feet should have an expansion seen to allow for yearly wall flex.  This is a very minor flex and is normal, especially here in Texas.  These straight vertical seams should be approximately 3/8" wide and should have close cell backer rod installed.  The outer seal should have 3/8" deep bead of urethane sealant.  We use only Sonneborn NP1 sealant which comes in 12 different colors to match your trim or mortar color.

Garage Spans with brick laid above it is another area that builders skimp on.  The 17 foot steel span that is over your garage cost a builder about $200 for a 1/4" thick angle iron.  To use a much stronger 1/2" thick angle iron would cost only an additional $100.  90 percent of homes have cracks in the brickwork at the center of this span due to the flex of a weak angle iron.  We have had to remove hundreds of brick above garages and completely rebuild the area costing the home owner thousands of dollars.  The vibration of many garage door openers cause mortar cracks at the outer edges as well.  Never allow a basketball goal to be mounted above your garage and never mount one to your brickwork.

Quoins (corner decorations) as pictured in the above picture are very attractive, decorative and of course add to the cost of building the home.  Once again, inexperienced mason build them incorrectly allowing this poor construction to take away a considerable amount of strength from the corner as far fewer bricks are interlocked into each other.  Instead of having 25-30 bricks interlocked at the corner, you have only 6-10 with quoined corners.  Insist that your bricks are fully interlocked at the corners, (no vertical seams)

Brick & Stone Mix in a homes veneer can be very attractive. But as with quoined corners and bay corners, they two must be interlocked into each other as much as possible.  I see many homes that have a facing wall of stone and they simply have a straight vertical seam going up the wall.  Look for mortar cracks soon to follow.

Window Brickwork is a peeve of mine. Many builders don't realize how much water runs down a window and how important a water tight area windows must be.  As you have a 3' x 5' window at the upper area of a wall means that you obviously have no brick there.  This void in the wall serves to weakens the wall and will could be a vulnerable area for mortar cracks below the window.  This is why it's recommended that homes have expansion joint seams at the edge of windows when the wall is longer than 30'. The window seal brick should be laid with a positive slope to allow water to drain away from the window, not flat and level, and certainly not with a negative slope.

Wall Ties are the steel bands that anchor the brick wall to the wood studs in the wall.  Many homes are built so fast that the masons don't take the time install them.  With the ground flex here in Texas, these anchors are extremely critical.  

Weep Holes are an important element of a brick wall construction.  As the daily Sun's rays heat up the brick wall, condensation is built up on the inside of the wall and needs the ability to dry or the likely hood of mold growth and damage to the internal wood structure could result.  The weep holes on the bottom course of the brick wall every few feet allow air to be drawn in and vented out through the eve vents.  This hot air drawing up the walls allow them to dry daily. Weep holes have been a building code requirement since 1974 but many builders even today still fail to have them integrated into the brickwork. 

 

 

There are many more things than just what are listed here to be concerned with when it comes to keeping an eye on your brick home.  Armed with some of these tip you can perform your own evaluations and can spot concerns before they become expensive problems. 

 

Be sure to also see our testimonials from our satisfied customers.

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