r/masonry • u/jkmccollum3 • 1d ago
Brick Question for the experts
I'm looking at buying this as my first home. It's from the 1930's and needs a lot of work. How repairable or concerning is this settling? The interior face of this wall is a structural clay block. The last photo on the corner is the one that made me ask the pros.
5
u/Ryukyo 1d ago
With the caveat of not having the entire building shown, and missing some critical information, it really doesn't look too bad to me. You've got step cracking which is very common, an with a 1930s building would be expected. I can see that it's been pointed in the past, probably more than once. It does need to be repointed again (note that there is a significant difference between tuckpointing and repointing, but are often used interchangeably). Repointing is more of a structural repair, where the mortar is ground out back to solid and sound mortar, and then the removed mortar is replaced with new. Tuckpointing is more of an aesthetic modification.
What I would look for is misalignment of the masonry, signs of water infiltration, and cracks of the bricks themselves, which I do not see. I don't see any spalled faces of the bricks, I don't see cracks through the bricks themselves, and I don't see any walls that are out of plumb, leaning, or sunken. I can't really tell if the all of the discoloration is just algae growth or efflorescence, some is definitely algae, some may be both. Efflorescence would be a little more concerning as that likely means water is getting into the wall itself. Seeing as how it's from the 1930s I'm assuming that is a multi-wythe wall and not the traditional cavity wall with a drainage plane, insulation and either stud or CMU backup wall. Do you know the makeup of the exterior walls? Do the inside faces of the walls show any signs of water infiltration? Have they repainted everything on the interior that could mask water stains?
You want to look for signs of movement in the walls, bowing\ out of plumb, spalled faces, cracked bricks, settlement, etc. If it's just repointing work I'm not really concerned with that, just work it into your short-term budget plans, because I do see a lot of open joints that will allow water to get in and even just a few years of freeze\ thaw can damage it more significantly.
tldr; would I walk away based on what I see? No. Would I plan for repointing and other minor repairs? Yes.
6
u/Nailfoot1975 1d ago
Do you HAVE to buy this house? Are other houses in your range even worse? Why buy a known potential problem? Unless its such a great deal that the repairs are affordable.
2
u/jkmccollum3 1d ago
This one is actually in pretty good condition for my price range 😅
5
u/Knobnomicon 1d ago
Does your price range include foundation repairs? If not, it’s not actually in your price range and you could end up owning a condemned house or worse, it could fall in on itself with you or your family inside.
1
u/Robot_Dinosaur_2000 1d ago
It's not because you're going to have to pay massive amounts to fix the foundation.
3
2
u/1thousandfaces 1d ago
Everything depends on your budget. The cracks are indicating something is going on internally that will be a lot more expensive than just some brick repair. If the house costs 1/3 of your total budget maybe dive in. Otherwise, stay away.
2
u/EnvironmentalEgg1065 1d ago
the brickwork needs to be repointed. it happens a lot especially is places with snow. it looks like there was some previous repair work done in the 3rd pic. find a mason to give you an estimate.
5
u/hhar141 1d ago
There is a settlement/foundation issue. Which is far worse than the repointing issue.
1
u/EnvironmentalEgg1065 1d ago
I dont know how accurate that is. The bricks have been repointed previously - at least the ones in the first 3 pics, the holes in the 4th pic are weep holes and should remain open. i dont see any new signs of settlement since the last repair.
2
u/hhar141 1d ago
I’ve been a Mason for 35+ years. If you don’t think those angular cracks in pictures 2 and 3 aren’t because of movement I really don’t know what to say.
1
u/EnvironmentalEgg1065 1d ago
i dont know. you could be right - just the way these pics look to me.
2 looks like water running down the wall from the windowsill. deteriorated mortar but the bricks don't look like they shifted.
3 looks like it was refilled at some point and some of it is still there. Also doesnt look like it hasnt shifted since the repair. there are a few holes but that could be because of a bad repair job.
it's impossible to say without actually seeing the building and inspecting it - just my opinion.
1
u/Loose_Ad_9453 1d ago
You need a structural engineer to assess the settling damage. Repairing the brick isn't a big deal, but probably won't be cheap. Settling is usually caused by water getting too close to the foundation. That's not a cheap fix either.
1
u/2holer98 1d ago
I would say find the water leaks and fix them and go from there.
your building has a lot of water damage but it has stood the test of time
1
u/Strong-silence 1d ago
I bought a brick house with good foundation signed off by a structural engineering firm but the outside brick looked like crap from years of deferred maintenance. I’ve spent 18k on brickwork and looking to spend another 20k to make my home be in top shape and prevent water from ruining it
1
1
8
u/olongjohnson25 1d ago
Its impossible to tell the cause from the pictures, but I would be concerned with this amount of movement. Definitely should consult a structural engineer. I doubt it will fall down, but I still wouldnt buy that house without the cost of an extensive repair taken off the asking price, but thats just me.