Warning: The brickwork on that new city hall addition downtown is already spalling.

Saw it yesterday, the mortar joints look like they were done in a hurry with the wrong mix. Anyone else seen premature failure like that on a public job?

3 comments

3 Comments

miles_roberts224d ago

Walking past it yesterday and you can see whole sections of brick face flaking off already. That hard mortar traps every bit of moisture behind it and when it freezes the brick pops like a zit. Saw the same thing on a county annex building over on ash street a few years back. City inspectors should have caught this before the punch list was signed.

tyler_baker28d ago

Noticed the same thing last week. Looks like they used a mortar that's way too hard for those bricks. Pops right off in this weather. Seen it happen before when they cut corners on the mix. Real shame on a building that's supposed to last. Makes you wonder who signed off on it.

tessa92228d ago

Exactly, wrong mortar mix is a classic mistake. The bricks need room to breathe and move a bit, especially with big temperature swings. That hard stuff just locks them in until something gives.