If your external brickwork is damaged, now is a very good time to call in the brick repair specialists before winter arrives and the effects get worse.

Summer is a time when damage to brickwork can have limited effects. The drier, warmer weather means the worst is yet to come. But now the equinox has come and gone and we are definitively into autumn, the weather will only get colder and will mostly get wetter.

A key problem is freeze-thaw. When masonry, stone or brickwork is cracked or the cement between bricks is missing, this creates gaps into which water can seep on cold days. If this happens and the moisture is still present as it freezes, such as when temperatures drop overnight, the impact of freeze-thaw can be felt, due to water expanding when it drops near freezing point. 

In nature this is a useful thing as it breaks up rocks and releases useful minerals and nutrients. But it is calamitous for brickwork. 

This can happen in two ways: By increasing internal lateral cracks and also a process called spalling, which causes the external surface layer of brick to crumble and break off, exposing weaker material beneath.

Often brickwork that is vulnerable to freeze-thaw this year will be in such a state because of the effect of such damage from previous winters. Alternatively, damage may have arisen from other causes, such as vehicle collisions, but be worsened by freeze-thaw.

There are various solutions to dealing with the problem. Rendering is one of these, with a protective coating providing a new layer of defence against further weathering and deterioration. However, sometimes the damage is so bad the only solution is to replace the bricks. This is where a DIY approach is very risky, as it often needs an expert eye to judge the best approach to take.

By getting your damaged brickwork checked out and fixed now, you can prevent things being a whole lot worse at the end of the coming winter.