Flaking, crumbling brick faces are common on older Fraser Valley homes. Here's why brick spalls and what to do before it spreads.
Spalling is when the face of a brick flakes, crumbles, or pops right off, leaving a rough, pitted surface. It's one of the most common things we get called about on older homes around Walnut Grove and the rest of the Fraser Valley, and it almost always comes down to one thing: water.
Why brick spalls
Brick soaks up water. When that water freezes inside the brick, it expands and pushes the face apart from the inside out. Do that over enough winters and the face gives up and flakes off. Our wet climate keeps brick damp for long stretches, so there's plenty of water in there waiting for a cold snap.
A few things make it worse. Brick that's been sealed with the wrong product can trap moisture inside. Hard modern mortar used to repair soft old brick forces the brick to take the stress instead of the joint. And brick near the ground or under a leaky gutter stays wetter, so it spalls first.
Why you can't just ignore it
Once the hard outer face of a brick is gone, the soft inside soaks up water even faster. So a spalled brick spalls more, and it starts pulling its neighbours into the same cycle. What starts as one or two ugly bricks turns into a patch, then a section.
It's also a water-entry point. Behind a brick exterior there's framing and insulation you don't want getting wet.
What the fix looks like
The repair is straightforward when it's caught in time:
- Remove the spalled bricks without damaging the sound ones around them
- Source replacement brick that matches colour, size, and texture
- Mix mortar tinted to match the existing joints
- Lay the new brick and tool the joints to match
- Fix the water source (gutter, grading, or sealer) so it doesn't come back
Match matters
The difference between a repair you notice and one you don't is the match. Old brick has a colour and texture that newer brick rarely hits dead on, so finding the closest match and tinting the mortar to suit is most of the job. We do this work on Walnut Grove and Fraser Valley homes regularly, and a good match is the whole point.
If your brick is flaking, send us a few photos and we'll come take a look before it spreads.