Saw a brick facade on a new bank in Springfield that looked like it was laid by a toddler.

The joints are all over the place, some are an inch thick, others are a sliver. The soldier course above the door is wavy. It's a brand new building, too. How does that even pass inspection? Makes our whole trade look bad. What's the worst brickwork you've seen on a new construction job?

3 comments

3 Comments

jessew833mo ago

That "wavy soldier course" you saw is brutal. I saw a new condo building where the corners weren't even plumb, like the whole wall leaned out an inch from top to bottom. How do you mess up the corners that bad?

mary_schmidt1mo ago

New condo buildings are where I see the worst work, actually. It's not always the corners that are the issue. Plumb is one thing, but you also have to make sure the bricks are level in their own beds. I've seen guys get the plumb bob dead on but their bricks are pitched forward or backward a little bit, which adds up over thirty courses. Adding more mortar is a classic rookie mistake. Mortar shrinks as it cures, so piling it on just guarantees gaps will show up later. The only real fix is to take it down like you said. Get a fresh line, check every brick with a torpedo level, and for the love of God don't let the guy mixing it add too much water. Also, a wavy soldier course usually means someone got lazy with the line and just eyeballed it. Those bricks are the crown of the wall. A wave in the soldier course makes the whole building look drunk.

lily_craig3mo ago

Ever see that happen on a brick veneer job? I watched a crew try to fix a leaning corner once by just adding more mortar, which made it worse. The real fix is to take it down to the last good course and start over with a tight string line. You have to check every single brick with a level as you go, no shortcuts. It's slow but it's the only way to get it straight.