"Matt" wrote in message
oups.com...
House built in '82. 3 fireplaces, which all group together into one
chimney, but apparantly have seperate flues, as there are 3 outputs on
top of the chimney stack.

Anywhoo, the exterior brick is rotting away. At the start of each
summer, I find small chunks o' brick on my deck, which I suppose were
actually fractured off by water/winter freeze, and then the heat and
wind of summer(house faces a lake - wind gusts are sometimes quite
severe and lasts for hours, and the back of the house has a SW
exposure, and gets lots of heat in the summer).

Anyway.... is there something to seal the bricks with, or should I just
let it continue to rot and let the insurance cover it when it
collapses? I think it will probably last another 10 years, but it seems
the spring/summer chunk o brick pile grows larger each year.

Thanks


I think I can motivate you to find a solution. Read your policy. Most of
them do not cover this type of problem. Seepage damage caused over a period
of time.

Sounds like the brick used is to porous for your weather conditions. There
are clear brick sealers that you might be able to apply (like painting).
They are good for a few years before you need to recoat. You should be able
to buy it at a masonry supply house. I don't recall the brand name.

If you let too much damage occur the only choice you will have left is to
stucco the darn thing.

Colbyt