"Alan Shilling" wrote in
message ...
Our house (circa 1959) is built with very hard bricks, and usually there
is
no problem with them unless you need to drill a hole! Recently a chunk
fell
out of one brick - this was from the end of one of a line of bricks laid
vertically (i..e. rotated 90 degress vertically) above the porch over the
front door. So in effect, a horizontal sliver of brick fell off, leaving a
lot of white powdery deposit on the brick which was easily brushed away.
The
wall above the brick is sound, there are no water pipes in that area, and
there is no question of rising damp as the brick is above fresh air! The
wall faces east, so is away from the prevailing weather. The question is,
what is the cause - faulty brick? damp? or something else I haven't
thought
of (e.g. The great Norfolk brick fungus :-) )?

Any suggestions gratefully received!

--
Alan Shilling
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Frost has been getting in through the mortar then. The white powdery
deposit is efflorescence, or salts from whatever the mortar or the bricks
are made from. It might be a good idea for you to have the house repointed,
but make sure that the builder doesn't change the mortar for a harder or
more dense mixture, as this may cause even more problems not allowing the
bricks to breath properly.

Get a local builder in. If they know the area, then they'll probably know
the older construction methods used around your district.


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