Our Process
Spalling brick repair on Wagner homes
Dampening the surrounding brick
Dry brick pulls water out of fresh mortar too quickly, which weakens the bond. Brick industry guidance advises dampening the surrounding brickwork before the new unit is placed, while letting the masonry absorb all surface water so the mortar still bonds well.
It is a small step that is easy to skip on a hot day. Our specialists judge it brick by brick, since sun, shade and the age of the brick all change how thirsty it is. If the wall is soaked from recent rain, we wait for it to dry back instead.
How deep old mortar is removed
New mortar needs a deep enough joint to hold. The National Park Service calls for raking old mortar out to at least 2 to 2 1/2 times the joint's width, which ensures an adequate bond and keeps new mortar from popping out.
Shallow raking leaves a thin skin of new mortar over old, weak material, and it fails early. Our crew rakes the joints around the replaced bricks to the proper depth by hand, taking care not to chip the edges of sound brick.
Face brick outside, firebrick inside
The brick on the outside of a chimney is ordinary face brick laid in regular mortar. The brick lining a firebox is firebrick set for heat. Spalling in the firebox has different causes and a different repair.
If your Wagner fireplace shows cracked or crumbling firebrick along with exterior spalling, we note both during the free inspection and price them separately. Exterior brick replacement never uses firebox materials, and interior repairs never use exterior mortar. Our specialists explain the difference at the free inspection, so each repair is priced for the right material.
Why we do not skim over spalled faces
It can be tempting to smear mortar, filler or caulk over a spalled brick to make it look whole. The patch covers the damaged unit without replacing it, traps moisture against the weak brick behind it and tends to loosen over time, taking more of the face with it.
We replace the brick instead. On a chimney in Wagner that has old face patches, our specialists remove them during the free inspection where they are loose, so you can see the condition underneath before approving the work.
