Saturday, January 17, 2009

Brick stains, efflorescence stians



The white stuff you see is efflorescence. You will see this on new construction typically. In a simple term, this is soluble salts. Water is getting behind the structure and is weeping out through the mortar and the water evaporates from the surface and a layer of salt is left behind. This is a new structure and I would not be too concerned, "yet." However, if this continues, the efflorescence can be your friend. What this tells me is that water is entering behind the wall and could lead to bigger problems if it is not addressed. See how the white is on the mortar joints, this means the efflorescence is coming from the mortar. If the white was on the center of the brick, the efflorescence would be from the brick. Another place you will efflorescence is on chimneys. If it is an older home you need to check the top of the chimney for water leaks. A good quick fix is to cap the top of the chimney with metal flashing or cap. Some people think to blob mortar on top to seal the top of the chimney, the mortar will crack after a time and the leaks will continue.

1 comment:

Brian Trimble said...

Mike,

Good information. You might also point them to our Technical Notes series which contain a lot of technical information on brickwork (www.gobrick.com). The issue that talks about efflorescence is Technical Notes 23 and 23A.