Environmental Conditions in the Deterioration of Brick Façades

Abstract

Despite the great progress made in the last few years in the manufacturing of ceramic bricks and their fitting technology, brick façades still suffer from a series of critical problems and in some cases the number of pathologies have even increased. The most common and critical problem of brick façade enclosures is the detachment of pieces from the die, thus the loss of union. This detachment can be associated with three different causes: an inadequate prescription of the griping material, the absence of control joints to make the enclosure compatible, and the incidence of sun and rain on the façades. While the first two factors are directly related to the design process, the fitting techniques, training of the work force, and quality control efficiency, the third factor is related to environmental factors that generate a different microclimate in each façade depending on its orientation. This paper describes some examples of detachments in brick façade enclosures and the main causes that originated from them.