Hello,

Is it normal for exterior brickwork to have tiny cracks in the bricks.
Quite a few of my bricks have these tiny cracks about an inch long and
less that 1mm wide. The house is about 45 years old.

Is this just what happens to aged bricks?

Sorry if this is a daft question but I have nothing else to worry about
tonight!


Thanks,

Graham

On Jul 15, 7:57*pm, Graham Jones wrote:
Hello,

Is it normal for exterior brickwork to have tiny cracks in the bricks.
Quite a few of my bricks have these tiny cracks about an inch long and
less that 1mm wide. The house is about 45 years old.

Is this just what happens to aged bricks?

Sorry if this is a daft question but I have nothing else to worry about
tonight!

Thanks,

Graham

No, this doesnt just happen to bricks. Sounds like structural
movement. It takes a lot more than 1mm before anything has to be done,
but of course investigating now may prevent things worsening to that
point. Prepare to be caned by your insurance.


NT

On 15/07/2010 20:05, NT wrote:
On Jul 15, 7:57 pm, Graham wrote:
Hello,

Is it normal for exterior brickwork to have tiny cracks in the bricks.
Quite a few of my bricks have these tiny cracks about an inch long and
less that 1mm wide. The house is about 45 years old.

Is this just what happens to aged bricks?

Sorry if this is a daft question but I have nothing else to worry about
tonight!

Thanks,

Graham

No, this doesnt just happen to bricks. Sounds like structural
movement. It takes a lot more than 1mm before anything has to be done,
but of course investigating now may prevent things worsening to that
point. Prepare to be caned by your insurance.


NT

Hello,

Are you sure about this? I would say that 1 in 10 of all the bricks have
these tiny cracks. This is uniformly over the whole house. There are no
other signs of problems, no zig zag cracks between bricks in the mortar.

The mortar by the way if very strong, looks like a sharp sand mix to me.


Graham

On 15/07/2010 20:18, Graham Jones wrote:
On 15/07/2010 20:05, NT wrote:
On Jul 15, 7:57 pm, Graham wrote:
Hello,

Is it normal for exterior brickwork to have tiny cracks in the bricks.
Quite a few of my bricks have these tiny cracks about an inch long and
less that 1mm wide. The house is about 45 years old.

Is this just what happens to aged bricks?

Sorry if this is a daft question but I have nothing else to worry about
tonight!

Thanks,

Graham

No, this doesnt just happen to bricks. Sounds like structural
movement. It takes a lot more than 1mm before anything has to be done,
but of course investigating now may prevent things worsening to that
point. Prepare to be caned by your insurance.


NT

Hello,

Are you sure about this? I would say that 1 in 10 of all the bricks have
these tiny cracks. This is uniformly over the whole house. There are no
other signs of problems, no zig zag cracks between bricks in the mortar.

The mortar by the way if very strong, looks like a sharp sand mix to me.


Graham

Looking at my neighbours house I can see the same on his bricks as well.

In article , Graham Jones
scribeth thus
On 15/07/2010 20:05, NT wrote:
On Jul 15, 7:57 pm, Graham wrote:
Hello,

Is it normal for exterior brickwork to have tiny cracks in the bricks.
Quite a few of my bricks have these tiny cracks about an inch long and
less that 1mm wide. The house is about 45 years old.

Is this just what happens to aged bricks?

Sorry if this is a daft question but I have nothing else to worry about
tonight!

Thanks,

Graham

No, this doesnt just happen to bricks. Sounds like structural
movement. It takes a lot more than 1mm before anything has to be done,
but of course investigating now may prevent things worsening to that
point. Prepare to be caned by your insurance.


NT

Hello,

Are you sure about this? I would say that 1 in 10 of all the bricks have
these tiny cracks. This is uniformly over the whole house. There are no
other signs of problems, no zig zag cracks between bricks in the mortar.

The mortar by the way if very strong, looks like a sharp sand mix to me.


Graham

A few pix are are worth a thousand words.. post some somewhere and a
reference to them then we'll see;!...

--
Tony Sayer

On 15 July, 20:05, NT wrote:
On Jul 15, 7:57 pm, Graham Jones wrote:

Hello,

Is it normal for exterior brickwork to have tiny cracks in the bricks.
Quite a few of my bricks have these tiny cracks about an inch long and
less that 1mm wide. The house is about 45 years old.

Is this just what happens to aged bricks?

Sorry if this is a daft question but I have nothing else to worry about
tonight!

Thanks,

Graham

No, this doesnt just happen to bricks. Sounds like structural
movement. It takes a lot more than 1mm before anything has to be done,
but of course investigating now may prevent things worsening to that
point. Prepare to be caned by your insurance.

NT

wow! what a helpful undramatic response NT? also a load of ****e as 1
inch cracks won't even extend beyond one brick! I seriously doubt
there's your "structural movement" but seriously believe you are a
scaremongerer ;)

Cheers
Jim K

On 15/07/2010 20:36, tony sayer wrote:
In , Graham Jones
scribeth thus
On 15/07/2010 20:05, NT wrote:
On Jul 15, 7:57 pm, Graham wrote:
Hello,

Is it normal for exterior brickwork to have tiny cracks in the bricks.
Quite a few of my bricks have these tiny cracks about an inch long and
less that 1mm wide. The house is about 45 years old.

Is this just what happens to aged bricks?

Sorry if this is a daft question but I have nothing else to worry about
tonight!

Thanks,

Graham

No, this doesnt just happen to bricks. Sounds like structural
movement. It takes a lot more than 1mm before anything has to be done,
but of course investigating now may prevent things worsening to that
point. Prepare to be caned by your insurance.


NT

Hello,

Are you sure about this? I would say that 1 in 10 of all the bricks have
these tiny cracks. This is uniformly over the whole house. There are no
other signs of problems, no zig zag cracks between bricks in the mortar.

The mortar by the way if very strong, looks like a sharp sand mix to me.


Graham

A few pix are are worth a thousand words.. post some somewhere and a
reference to them then we'll see;!...


Good idea, I'll do that tomorrow.

In article ,
Graham Jones writes:
Hello,

Is it normal for exterior brickwork to have tiny cracks in the bricks.
Quite a few of my bricks have these tiny cracks about an inch long and
less that 1mm wide. The house is about 45 years old.

A picture would be useful.
Do you know for sure they weren't always there?

--
Andrew Gabriel
[email address is not usable -- followup in the newsgroup]

On 15/07/2010 20:49, Andrew Gabriel wrote:
In ,
Graham writes:
Hello,

Is it normal for exterior brickwork to have tiny cracks in the bricks.
Quite a few of my bricks have these tiny cracks about an inch long and
less that 1mm wide. The house is about 45 years old.

A picture would be useful.
Do you know for sure they weren't always there?


Yes, pictures tomorrow.

No, I don't know for sure, this is the first time I've really inspected
the brickwork, the bricks could have been like that from manufacture.

"Graham Jones" wrote in message
...
Hello,

Is it normal for exterior brickwork to have tiny cracks in the bricks.
Quite a few of my bricks have these tiny cracks about an inch long and
less that 1mm wide. The house is about 45 years old.

Is this just what happens to aged bricks?

Sorry if this is a daft question but I have nothing else to worry about
tonight!
Thanks,

Graham

From my geology lessons... I would say: "Do all the cracks line up so that
they are roughly parallel to each other from brick to brick, or are the
crack orientations fairly random?"

If fairly random, I'd say this was a rather sub optimum set of bricks and
those cracks could hold water and freeze and gradually lose their faces.

If all orientated the same way it could just be that they were all made
exactly the same way, but it may be that the whole structure is under stress
or strain from one direction.

S

On 15 July, 19:57, Graham Jones wrote:
Hello,

Is it normal for exterior brickwork to have tiny cracks in the bricks.
Quite a few of my bricks have these tiny cracks about an inch long and
less that 1mm wide. The house is about 45 years old.

Is this just what happens to aged bricks?

Sorry if this is a daft question but I have nothing else to worry about
tonight!

Thanks,

Graham

If they are regularly spaced it may be an intended finish. Bricks come
in many different sorts as regards strength, permeability and frost
proof.
Really need a picture to get some idea.

harry wrote:
On 15 July, 19:57, Graham Jones wrote:
Hello,

Is it normal for exterior brickwork to have tiny cracks in the bricks.
Quite a few of my bricks have these tiny cracks about an inch long and
less that 1mm wide. The house is about 45 years old.

Is this just what happens to aged bricks?

Sorry if this is a daft question but I have nothing else to worry about
tonight!

Thanks,

Graham

If they are regularly spaced it may be an intended finish. Bricks come
in many different sorts as regards strength, permeability and frost
proof.
Really need a picture to get some idea.

I have a couple of hundred reclaimed Victorian yellow stock bricks
stacked up ready to build a garden wall. Some have quite wide cracks
which don't even extend to the edges of the brick, suggesting that they
were made that way. It's obvious from the general shape and size
variation that manufacture was a bit rough and ready in those days.

On Jul 15, 8:18*pm, Graham Jones wrote:
On 15/07/2010 20:05, NT wrote:
On Jul 15, 7:57 pm, Graham *wrote:
Hello,

Is it normal for exterior brickwork to have tiny cracks in the bricks.
Quite a few of my bricks have these tiny cracks about an inch long and
less that 1mm wide. The house is about 45 years old.

Is this just what happens to aged bricks?

Sorry if this is a daft question but I have nothing else to worry about
tonight!

Thanks,

Graham

No, this doesnt just happen to bricks. Sounds like structural
movement. It takes a lot more than 1mm before anything has to be done,
but of course investigating now may prevent things worsening to that
point. Prepare to be caned by your insurance.

NT

Hello,

Are you sure about this? I would say that 1 in 10 of all the bricks have
these tiny cracks. This is uniformly over the whole house. There are no
other signs of problems, no zig zag cracks between bricks in the mortar.

The mortar by the way if very strong, looks like a sharp sand mix to me.

Graham

I see, in that case as other have said just the way the bricks were
made. The firing cycle causes them to change size marginally, and as
exterior and interior are at differeing temps some of the time, cracks
can result. I thought you meant a load of them were roughly lined up,
sorry I misunderstood.


NT

In article 3yV%n.119544$U%7.35627@hurricane,
stuart noble writes:

I have a couple of hundred reclaimed Victorian yellow stock bricks
stacked up ready to build a garden wall. Some have quite wide cracks
which don't even extend to the edges of the brick, suggesting that they
were made that way. It's obvious from the general shape and size
variation that manufacture was a bit rough and ready in those days.

There was a much larger proportion of B grade commons. These were
used for walls which were to be plastered or rendered and the
brickwork not visible (and usually laid by a less experienced
bricklayer than the facing bricks).

--
Andrew Gabriel
[email address is not usable -- followup in the newsgroup]

On 15/07/2010 19:57, Graham Jones wrote:
Hello,

Is it normal for exterior brickwork to have tiny cracks in the bricks.
Quite a few of my bricks have these tiny cracks about an inch long and
less that 1mm wide. The house is about 45 years old.

Is this just what happens to aged bricks?

Sorry if this is a daft question but I have nothing else to worry about
tonight!


Thanks,

Graham

Thanks for everybody's replies.

stuart noble wrote:

I have a couple of hundred reclaimed Victorian yellow stock bricks
stacked up ready to build a garden wall. Some have quite wide cracks
which don't even extend to the edges of the brick, suggesting that they
were made that way. It's obvious from the general shape and size
variation that manufacture was a bit rough and ready in those days.

It is also, IME, only with the current level of mechanical
handling that bricks are treated with care before use. My
childhood memory is of building sites where bricks were delivered
by simply tipping from a truck.

Chris
--
Chris J Dixon Nottingham UK


Have dancing shoes, will ceilidh.

On 16 Jul,
Chris J Dixon wrote:

It is also, IME, only with the current level of mechanical
handling that bricks are treated with care before use. My
childhood memory is of building sites where bricks were delivered
by simply tipping from a truck.

Not all places. Where my father worked at one time /everyone/ had to turn out
to manhandle the bricks when they arrived, before the days of hiabs. Some
places did just tip them.

--
B Thumbs
Change lycos to yahoo to reply

In article ,
Chris J Dixon writes:
stuart noble wrote:

I have a couple of hundred reclaimed Victorian yellow stock bricks
stacked up ready to build a garden wall. Some have quite wide cracks
which don't even extend to the edges of the brick, suggesting that they
were made that way. It's obvious from the general shape and size
variation that manufacture was a bit rough and ready in those days.

It is also, IME, only with the current level of mechanical
handling that bricks are treated with care before use. My
childhood memory is of building sites where bricks were delivered
by simply tipping from a truck.

I rather like this one: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lV-iP1jSMlI

--
Andrew Gabriel
[email address is not usable -- followup in the newsgroup]

"Andrew Gabriel" wrote in message
...
In article ,
Chris J Dixon writes:
stuart noble wrote:

I have a couple of hundred reclaimed Victorian yellow stock bricks
stacked up ready to build a garden wall. Some have quite wide cracks
which don't even extend to the edges of the brick, suggesting that they
were made that way. It's obvious from the general shape and size
variation that manufacture was a bit rough and ready in those days.

It is also, IME, only with the current level of mechanical
handling that bricks are treated with care before use. My
childhood memory is of building sites where bricks were delivered
by simply tipping from a truck.

I rather like this one: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lV-iP1jSMlI

--
Andrew Gabriel


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQegJCTLi4k

Much more typical in the UK

Adam

Andrew Gabriel wrote:
In article 3yV%n.119544$U%7.35627@hurricane,
stuart noble writes:
I have a couple of hundred reclaimed Victorian yellow stock bricks
stacked up ready to build a garden wall. Some have quite wide cracks
which don't even extend to the edges of the brick, suggesting that they
were made that way. It's obvious from the general shape and size
variation that manufacture was a bit rough and ready in those days.

There was a much larger proportion of B grade commons. These were
used for walls which were to be plastered or rendered and the
brickwork not visible (and usually laid by a less experienced
bricklayer than the facing bricks).


I've just had to buy some new yellow bricks to match the reclaimed, and
they are also a bit rough and ready :-) Made by the same firm (Smead
Dean) and a very good match colour wise.

"NT" wrote in message
...
On Jul 15, 8:18 pm, Graham Jones wrote:
On 15/07/2010 20:05, NT wrote:
On Jul 15, 7:57 pm, Graham wrote:
Hello,

Is it normal for exterior brickwork to have tiny cracks in the bricks.
Quite a few of my bricks have these tiny cracks about an inch long and
less that 1mm wide. The house is about 45 years old.

Is this just what happens to aged bricks?

Sorry if this is a daft question but I have nothing else to worry about
tonight!

Thanks,

Graham

No, this doesnt just happen to bricks. Sounds like structural
movement. It takes a lot more than 1mm before anything has to be done,
but of course investigating now may prevent things worsening to that
point. Prepare to be caned by your insurance.

NT

Hello,

Are you sure about this? I would say that 1 in 10 of all the bricks have
these tiny cracks. This is uniformly over the whole house. There are no
other signs of problems, no zig zag cracks between bricks in the mortar.

The mortar by the way if very strong, looks like a sharp sand mix to me.

Graham

I see, in that case as other have said just the way the bricks were
made. The firing cycle causes them to change size marginally, and as
exterior and interior are at differeing temps some of the time, cracks
can result. I thought you meant a load of them were roughly lined up,
sorry I misunderstood.

NT

Around all the brick clay pits of Hansons in Stewartby Mid Beds area, the
paths were all made up of broken and reject bricks. Looks like a fair old
proportion do crack up in the firing.

S

"stuart noble" wrote in message
news:3yV%n.119544$U%7.35627@hurricane...
harry wrote:
On 15 July, 19:57, Graham Jones wrote:
Hello,

Is it normal for exterior brickwork to have tiny cracks in the bricks.
Quite a few of my bricks have these tiny cracks about an inch long and
less that 1mm wide. The house is about 45 years old.

Is this just what happens to aged bricks?

Sorry if this is a daft question but I have nothing else to worry about
tonight!

Thanks,

Graham

If they are regularly spaced it may be an intended finish. Bricks come
in many different sorts as regards strength, permeability and frost
proof.
Really need a picture to get some idea.

I have a couple of hundred reclaimed Victorian yellow stock bricks stacked
up ready to build a garden wall. Some have quite wide cracks which don't
even extend to the edges of the brick, suggesting that they were made that
way. It's obvious from the general shape and size variation that
manufacture was a bit rough and ready in those days.

And the lime mortar helped them get away with it: I dug up quite a handy
few, from our 'lawn' which is on the site of Victorian greenhouses. The
mortar was quite cheesy but amazingly difficult to scrape off, but I expect
they would all soon break with cement type mortar.

S