kimr33•10d ago

Found a stat about mortar freeze-thaw cycles that scared me straight

I was looking at a study from the Masonry Society and it said that 1 in 4 brick walls fail within 20 years because of moisture getting trapped behind the face. Has anyone else started using a weep system on every job since reading something like that?

3 comments

3 Comments

jordant6910d ago

Yeah but the actual study from the Masonry Society was about moisture damage in general, not full wall failure. Still makes you want to double check your work though, right?

robert6410d ago

Actually, that 1 in 4 number sounds a little off. I remember reading that same study and I think it was 1 in 4 walls had SOME moisture damage, not full-blown failure. Still scary, but failure usually takes longer than 20 years if the brickwork was done right.

green.emma10d ago

@robert64 You said "full-blown failure usually takes longer than 20 years" and that's spot on. A friend of mine bought a house built in the 80s and the brickwork looked fine until year 22, then suddenly the whole back wall started bowing inward. Turned out moisture had been seeping through tiny hairline cracks for years before it ever showed on the inside.