Cutting a damaged brick out of a New York wall is the quick part. The slow part is the brick that goes back in. One that is a little too red, a fraction too short or too smooth on its face stays visible from the sidewalk for decades, so we decide where every new brick comes from before the first old one is touched.
Brick replacement is for single bricks that have failed in a wall that is otherwise sound. A brick that has lost its face, split in two or come loose is cut out, and another is set in its place with full joints around it. On an NYC building where a crack runs across several bricks, or a section has moved, the job becomes rebuilding instead, which is brick repair and installation NYC.
As a brick replacement contractor in NYC, we settle where each new brick will come from before any old one is cut out. If the damaged brick is still sound behind its face, it can often be turned around so the hidden side shows, as the Brick Development Association notes. If not, we look for spare brick in a part of the same building nobody sees, then for reclaimed brick with a known history, and only then for new brick. That order is what a brick matching service should mean on an old wall.
Most bricks on an older New York wall outlast several rounds of new mortar around them.
The ones that fail usually go one at a time, for one of these reasons.
Moisture trapped in a brick can push its face off in layers. Whether that NYC brick can be kept is covered under brick spalling repair.
One brick cracked in two among whole neighbors has a local cause, such as a rusted fixing. On an NYC wall it comes out alone.
When its mortar fails, a brick moves. A sound one is cleaned and reset on the New York wall in fresh mortar, not discarded.
Some bricks left the kiln under-fired and break down faster than those around them, showing as scattered powdery units across an NYC wall.
A brick put in years ago in the wrong size or color can come out again for one that suits the New York wall.
We work down this list in order and stop at the first brick that suits the wall.
The Brick Development Association notes that a brick with a damaged face can often be turned round so its unexposed face shows. It only works when the brick is sound right through, but on an NYC wall it keeps the original clay and size, which nothing bought in can promise.
Next comes salvaged brick from somewhere on the building nobody looks at, such as a rear wall or a section coming down in the same job. The Association cautions that bricks taken from inside a building may not suit an outside wall, so on a New York job each one is checked for where it sat.
Reclaimed brick from a yard is the third choice, and only when its history is known and the brick itself is in good condition. A pallet with no story behind it may hold bricks that were never meant to face the weather, and those do not go on an NYC front.
New brick comes last, and size comes before color. The Association notes that older bricks can differ in size from modern ones, which upsets the bond. On a New York wall the length and height are checked first, then color and texture are judged on a small sample panel beside the old work, as BIA Technical Note 46 advises.
Before anything is cut out of the NYC wall, we find what let water reach the damaged bricks and deal with it, or tell you who has to. The brick that goes back in is chosen and on site before the first opening is made.
The damaged brick is broken out, and the mortar around it is cut and chiseled away so the bricks beside it on the New York wall are not loosened or chipped. Loose mortar and dust are cleared from the opening.
Following BIA Technical Note 46, the surrounding brick is dampened, every face that will touch is spread with mortar, and the new brick is centered and pushed into place. Pointing around it fills the head and bed joints on the NYC wall, so no gap is left for water.
Nobody notices a well replaced brick on a New York front, and that is the point. The ones people notice are the bright new unit in a weathered wall, the brick that sits proud or short of its neighbors, or the joints that widen around a patch. Each comes from choosing the brick in a hurry. Reusing the building’s own brick where it is sound, borrowing from where nobody looks, and proving anything new beside the old work before ordering more is what keeps an NYC repair from becoming the thing everyone sees.
We take on brick replacement in Manhattan, Brooklyn, the Bronx and Queens, and our brick matching service reaches older walls in Westchester County and Yonkers as well.
The rest of our brick work across the city is on brickwork contractor NYC.
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The damaged brick is broken out and the mortar around it cut and chiseled away without harming its neighbors. Following BIA Technical Note 46, the opening is dampened, every contact face gets mortar, and the new brick is centered and pushed in. On an NYC wall, pointing around it leaves full joints.
It finds a brick that suits your wall in size, color and texture before the old one comes out. BIA Technical Note 46 says matching brick may take considerable effort and should be checked on a sample panel. On a New York wall, we look at your own building’s brick before buying any.
Often, if the brick is sound behind its damaged face. The Brick Development Association notes that a brick can often be turned round so its unexposed face shows. On an NYC wall that keeps the original clay and size. If the damage runs right through, a different brick is needed.
Only if you know where it came from. The Brick Development Association advises that bricks of unknown origin should be assumed unfit for an exposed wall, since they may have come from inside a building. For an NYC front, reclaimed brick with a known history and in good condition is the safer choice.
Because brick comes in more than one size. BIA Technical Note 10 lists a modular brick at 7⅝ inches long and a standard brick at 8 inches, and older bricks can differ again. On an NYC wall, a brick of the wrong length throws out the joints, so size is checked before color.
Find out why they moved before anything else. Usually the mortar around them has failed, and if the brick itself is sound it can be cleaned and set back with fresh mortar. On a New York facade, loose bricks above a sidewalk should be looked at quickly, since one can fall.
Not always, and the pattern of the crack matters. One cracked brick among sound neighbors is a local fault and is usually replaced. BIA Technical Note 46 treats cracks running through several bricks as structural, a matter for an engineer. On an NYC wall that is rebuilding work, not single replacement.
Because new brick fails the same way if water keeps reaching it. The Brick Development Association says damp conditions should be put right before replacement can really succeed, and BIA Technical Note 46 says the moisture source should be found and corrected first. On a New York wall, we trace it before cutting.
