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Posted: Sat Apr 10, 2004 4:56 pm
by Henryoh
I live in the frozen tundra of Minnesota, USA. My English bricklayer layed a beautiful 144' brick footpath. The bricks were morted together. As the bricks absorb water and our tempretures get to below -20'c for 3 months of the year the bricks are breaking up. I have used a sealent applying it as per the directions but it is not solving the damage. I would appreciate your recommendations. I do not want to rip the footpath up.
Posted: Sun Apr 11, 2004 3:15 pm
by 84-1093879891
It most likely a situation where the wrong bricks have been laid. Brickies are not path construction experts. If they had any brains, they'd be groundworkers or flaggers, but it's their lot in life to be stuck daubing bricks with mortar and piling them ever upwards. ;)
So, I'd hazard a guess that your brickie has used facing bricks, intended for use above ground level in the construction of walls and whathaveyou, rather than proper paving bricks, which are fully moisture and frost resistant, and capable of dealing with more or less whatever is thrown at them by the climate.
No amount of sealant is going to remedy this problem. The fact is that they are the WRONG bricks and the path can only continue to deteriorate. Your only option, if you want a decent path, is to rip them up and start again with genuine paving bricks.
In the UK/RoI we refer to this particular type of brick as a clay paver of Class PA or Class PB. I've no idea what they are called in your country, but I know they are available, although they are not as popular as the concrete block pavers.
If you employ a paving contractor rather than a brickie (regardless of nationality), then there's a better chance of you getting a path that will actually last through more than a couple of winters.