How’s Your Brick?

I remember in the ‘70’s, we had a big concern about “Mexican brick.” I sold some homes in Plano in which the brick on the outside of the house was deteriorating. You could use your key and scratch out the brick ,it was so soft. We often had to replace bricks throughout the outside of the home to past inspection which sometimes was hard to do since the houses were older and the brick was not around any more.

We were told at that time, that Mexican brick was just fine for this climate. We were mostly dry and the brick would outlast most any other brick. Remember all those ads on Acme Brick from our favorite quarterback, Aikman? They came as a result of the problems we were having with deteriorating Mexican brick. I remember when my neighbor left her sprinkler on all day hitting her brick wall in the dining room and her carpet was wet at the end of the day. It dried out and was never wet again after we determined the water had soaked through the Mexican porous brick.

Well, it is back. I am sure the brick got better as the years have come and gone but a local builder or maybe more than one bought some Mexican brick that was not fired properly and it is really flaking and crumbling! So much so that the house has to be rebricked! Jessica Meyers had an article in The Dallas Morning News on November 7, 2008 about 600 homes in the are that are facing such. Of course everyone that could be sued is out of business now! It was probably distributed from a Collin County-based distributor, the report states.

Finding hunks of brick in your flowerbeds and seeing your house disintegrate around you is not much fun. It just might be a good idea when buying a house that you do the following tests on the brick:
1. Scratch test: Scratching a brick with a nail or screwdriver should not be possible.
2. Knock the bricks together: Should produce a sharp ringing sound, not a dull thud.
3. Ask for written information confirming that the brick meets certification standards for our region and that it is fired clay brick.
4. Research the kind of brick to see how long its been on the market and whether it has had problems.