Brick Repair near you

Start with the ground, because in Australia that is usually where the answer is. Sites are classified in accordance with AS 2870, and the classes run from Class A, most sand and rock sites with little or no ground movement from moisture changes, through slightly, moderately and highly reactive clay to Class E extremely reactive clay, and Class P for problem sites including soft clay or silt, loose sands, landslip, mine subsidence and collapsing soils. A house on a moderately or highly reactive site moves seasonally, and the brickwork cracks where the movement concentrates: at the corners of openings, at changes in wall height, and at the ends of long unjointed runs.

Then look for what should have absorbed that movement. The Housing Provisions require vertical articulation joints at not more than 6 metre centres in straight walls, at least 10 millimetres wide, filled with a flexible sealant on a backer rod or compressible foam support, and located within 300 millimetres of vertical supports. Where the joint is missing, painted over or packed with hard mortar, the wall makes its own joint, and it does so where the brickwork is weakest rather than where a designer would have chosen. Before agreeing to a cosmetic repair, ask where the articulation joints are and whether one should be cut into the wall as part of the work.

Distinguish between cracks that are still moving and cracks that have stopped. Photograph each one with a rule beside it and the date recorded, note the season, and look again after the next long dry spell and the next wet one. Movement that continues, or is accompanied by doors and windows binding, floors going out of level or a crack that follows through the slab or footing, is a structural question for an engineer and not a bricklaying one. Repairing brickwork over ground that is still moving buys a season and then returns.

In brick veneer the brickwork is a skin. It is tied to a frame that carries the roof and floors, the cavity behind it is a drainage space of not less than 25 and not more than 75 millimetres, and the wall relies entirely on its ties, which must comply with AS 2699.1 at a duty rating suited to the site's wind speed and be spaced at not more than 600 millimetres horizontally and vertically. So a bulging veneer panel is a tie failure and needs remedial ties installed, not repointing, and cutting out bricks near the bottom of the panel is the moment to check that the cavity is clear and the weepholes are open.

In cavity masonry, the Perth and Adelaide double brick pattern, both leaves are masonry, each not less than 90 millimetres wide, with a cavity of not less than 35 and not more than 75 millimetres and medium duty ties in aligning bed joints at a vertical spacing of not more than 300 millimetres. A crack here passes through a loadbearing element, so its width, its path and whether it goes through both leaves all matter more. Repairs are also harder to hide, because the outer leaf cannot simply be taken off and relaid without dealing with the wall as a structure.

What both systems share is a dependence on drainage and separation rather than on being waterproof. Water gets into brickwork, runs down the back face and is meant to leave through weepholes a minimum of 50 millimetres high, spaced at not more than 1.2 metre centres, above a damp-proof course that is continuous through the wall and visible from the outside face. Any repair that blocks that path, including a well-meant render skirt at the base of the wall, moves the problem inside.

A competent repair starts with the cause and only then touches the brick. Damaged units are cut out by removing the surrounding mortar and breaking the brick out in pieces so the neighbouring units and any wall ties are not disturbed, the opening is cleaned, the replacement is bedded in fresh mortar and the joints are tooled to match the profile of the wall. Repointing follows the same discipline: rake the joint back to sound mortar to a consistent depth without widening it or chipping the arrises, then refill in layers and tool to match. A grinder run along a joint by someone in a hurry leaves a wall with wider, harder joints than it started with and a row of damaged brick edges.

Access and dust are the two safety items that belong on the quote. Anything above the ground floor needs a scaffold or an elevated work platform and a crew trained to work at height, and cutting and grinding masonry releases respirable crystalline silica, so expect on-tool dust extraction or water suppression, respiratory protection and exclusion of the area rather than a broom afterwards. Keep windows shut, move the washing, and keep children and pets away from the work zone.

Ask for evidence at the end. Photographs of what was behind the wall, of the ties or the damp-proof course where they were exposed, and of the joint before and after, are worth more than a line on an invoice saying the brickwork was repaired. If the wall is likely to move again, that record is what lets the next assessment start from something better than guesswork.

Matching is harder in Australia than people expect because brick sizes, colours and textures have shifted between eras and between brickworks, and a wall weathers. Second-hand units of the same period, or bricks taken from a concealed location such as a wall behind a carport or under a later extension, usually blend better than anything new. Where new units are used, they should suit the exposure: the Code's durability classifications run from Protected through General Purpose to an Exposure class for severe conditions including salt attack and salt spray, and a coastal repair specified as general purpose will fret again.

Mortar is where repairs most often do lasting harm. The mix is meant to be the sacrificial element, softer than the units it holds, and the Housing Provisions set mixes by volume against AS 3700 or AS 4773 with different cement, lime and sand proportions for protected, general purpose and exposure conditions. Repointing an old, soft brick wall with a hard, cement-rich mortar drives moisture and stress into the bricks instead, and the faces come away along the new joints. On heritage and character brickwork the right answer is usually a lime-rich mix chosen after examining what is already there, and the joint profile and width should be reproduced rather than improved.

Colour is the last step, not the first. Mortar dries lighter than it looks when wet and keeps changing as it cures, so a careful tradesperson mixes small trial batches with different sands, lets them cure and compares them against the existing joints in daylight before starting on the wall. Expect a patch to be visible for a season or two even when it is done well.

Repair work is licensed the same way new work is. In New South Wales, bricklaying means erecting structures such as buildings by putting together individual masonry units known as bricks or blocks, and covers brick fences, retaining walls, associated flashing and minor supporting concreting; residential building and trade work above the Home Building Act value threshold requires a contractor licence, and the penalties for unlicensed work are substantial for individuals and larger again for companies. Queensland requires a QBCC licence for building work above its threshold, with bricklaying and blocklaying and stonemasonry issued as separate trade classes, and requires a licence for plumbing and drainage at any value, which can matter when the real fix is where the stormwater goes. Western Australia registers building practitioners and contractors through the Building Services Board, supported by Building and Energy, under the Building Services (Registration) Act 2011.

A building approval is a separate question from a licence, and it is answered locally. Replacing damaged bricks like for like is usually treated as repair, while rebuilding a wall, altering openings, changing the appearance of a property in a heritage or character overlay, or touching a retaining structure can bring the work into the approval system. Your council or a registered building surveyor gives the answer for your address, and it is a cheaper phone call before the scaffold goes up than after.

LokalMatch is where finding someone starts. You describe the brick problem once, including whether the house is brick veneer or double brick, its approximate age, where the cracking or fretting is, what the ground is like and whether anything has recently changed outside such as new paving or a leaking pipe, and matched bricklayers contact you directly. They pay for the requests they receive. LokalMatch does not carry out repairs, does not set prices and does not vet, rank or recommend anyone, so the licence check stays with you.