Protecting Your Brickwork

Protecting Your Brickwork

Bad weather can do much more than dampen your spirits. It can also damage your brickwork.  Left unchecked, unprotected brickwork will deteriorate and lose its ability to keep out frost, rain and snow. Once this occurs, any manner of accelerated decay and its by-products can occur.

The cost to repair or reverse the damage to brickwork can be significant. As well, the safety of a structure can be greatly reduced when its brickwork has been weakened by the weather.

 

What Continuous Exposure to Weather can do to your Brickwork?

Brick that is allowed to be constantly saturated by water can first result in the serious and rapid decay of the mortar joints and the bricks themselves if left for long enough. Brick faces can crack and ultimately crumble as the result of frost. This is most common on chimney stacks and parapets, or anywhere that cement mortar has been used instead of the lime-based variety.

 

How to Protect your Brickwork

There is more than one method of protecting brickwork from the damaging effects of the weather.

Coping Stones can be placed on the tops of free standing walls to protect them. Our Coping Stones are perfect to provide that finishing touch to a wall and safeguard your masonry from the weather. All of our wall copings are manufactured to the very highest standards, here in the UK.

Also for unusual wall sizes and set ups, we can often manufacture bespoke concrete copings to match your exact specifications using our highly specialist mould making techniques. Contact us on 0191 217 0002 today to discuss your project requirements.

Caring for your copings is also important.  Keeping free of moss and algae.  For information on caring for your copings check out our blog post here…

If your exterior walls are already damaged this needs addressing.   But don’t worry, there are steps you can take to help. Brickwork that’s become damaged by the weather can undergo the rendering process, which replaces the coating on the face of the wall. Another solution is to replace damaged bricks with new ones.  This can be crucial to stop critical failure in the integrity of the wall and costly rebuilding.

Once remedied you can add new copings to prevent future damage.

 

The Ideal Finishing Touch

Choosing the perfect copings for your wall is important.  We offer a huge range of cast stone copings with an array of sizes and colours so you can always find the right copings for your wall.  Here are some of our concrete coping products detailed below:

 

Flat Coping Stones

The Flat Coping Stones range is a very modern, minimalist style of Coping Stone.  Their flat shape makes it ideal for use on a wall where railings are to be fitted or where sitting is required.

Our Flat Copings are an attractive, effective and affordable solution to protect your masonry.  They suit all property types and are designed to seamlessly match your walling.

Chamfered Flat Coping Stones

The Chamfered Flat Coping Stones range is designed to give a more modern contemporary look, while also giving maximum protection to your walls from the weather.

 

Once-Weathered Coping Stones

Our Once Weathered Coping Stones range is ideal for use on a wall where it is preferable to control the direction of which the rain water will run off.  For example, directing the water towards the guttering on a roof.  The term “Once Weathered” means these copings slope only one way allowing the majority of rainwater to flow mainly off one side of the Coping Stones.

 

Twice-Weathered Apex Coping Stones

The Twice Weathered Apex Coping Stones range of coping is designed to finish off your wall and protect your brickwork from the weather.  The term “Twice Weathered” refers to the fact that the copings slope both ways allowing the rain water to run off either side, similar to a pitched roof on a house.

Twice Weathered Bevelled Coping Stones

The Twice Weathered Bevelled Coping Stone range is a Deeper, more Ornate version of Coping Stone for your walls. These Coping Stones also have a nice bevelled feature running down either side to help add some character to your wall.

Victorian Coping Stones

Our Victorian Coping Stones range is designed to match the old deep Coping Stones that were used on many a house across the UK in the Victorian era.  Their style has a broad range of uses, from older Terraced Houses to modern Town Houses and old Country Mansions, these Coping Stones are guaranteed to look great.

Because they have a flat top section our Victorian Coping Stones are perfect for fitting railings to, or for use on a wall where sitting is preferable.

 

Cottage Wall Coping Stones

Our stylish and unique Cottage Wall Copings range is designed to mimic the look of an old Sandstone wall.  These are perfect for old houses with garden walls in the many beautiful rural villages across the uk that wish to maintain the look and feel of the surroundings.

Our Cottage Wall Copings are an attractive, elegant and affordable solution to protect vulnerable areas from the harshest of weather.  They are designed to seamlessly match your walling and compliment your masonry.

In addition to the wide range of pre-cast coping stones that are available for gardens today, there is the option to choose bespoke coping stones.  And going this route offers a host of benefits.

Not only are custom coping stones decidedly unique, but they are eye-catching.  Going the custom route can often result in many neighbours being impressed whenever they stop by to chat.

The purchase of custom garden coping stones means that you can choose virtually any colour, shade and design you like to be manufactured to order. But it can also allow you to visually connect one area of your home to another.  The continuity of coping stones can serve to give your entire property a put-together look and feel.

The great news about going the custom route is that you are never left wanting for choice where it comes to accessories like railings.  Whether you prefer modern, traditional or a combination of both, your custom coping stones can fit with any style.

Whatever style, colour and specifications you choose chances are you will also need pier caps to top your pillars or gateposts.  Our cast stone Pier Caps provide the ideal finishing touch to a gate post, pillar or stone/brick gate pier.

We offer a huge range of styles of cast pier caps with an array of sizes and colours so you can always find the right one for you.

Choosing the perfect copings for your wall is important.  You want them to fit in seamlessly with the rest of your house and the neighbouring properties.  We offer a huge range of cast stone copings with an array of sizes and colours so you can always find the right copings for your wall.

If you have any questions on which going is right for you, contact us on 0191 217 0002 to discuss your project requirements.  We are always happy to help and provide a professional friendly service.

 

Other Factors That Can Expose Your Brickwork to the Weather

Brickwork can crack and bulge as the result of spreading tree roots, which can leave it vulnerable to inclement weather. Weakening of brickwork can also occur when internal load-bearing walls are removed. Even the timber lintels that exist over doors and windows that have been allowed to rot can weaken brickwork.

Best advice is to try using sympathetic plantings to help lessen the effects of the weather on your walls in strategic places, but always take care to ensure to avoid any damage caused by root systems and climbing plants.  Climbing shrubs can make matters worse by harbouring damp, while ivy roots can invade old, soft mortar joints.  Your walls can also create safe havens for delicate plants on the protected side.  For further advice on how to protect your garden from frost damage check out our blog here.

In addition, brickwork can sustain damage from moisture that is drawn upwards from the ground. Known as rising damp, this condition can affect bricks as well as sandstone and mortar. It is also a slow process, with the possibility of unnoticeable damage occurring over several years before it’s detected.

Understanding the signs of brickwork damage due to weather can prevent costly repairs down the road.

Get in the habit of checking your brickwork a few times a year, as changes can occur at any time, and tell tail warning signs should always be an indicator of any possible problems.

If you are looking for wall or pillar capping you can view our full range of products here.  You can also contact us on 0191 217 0002 to discuss your project requirements.  Our team of experts will guide you through what is needed and how to protect your masonry.

 

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