Bricks disintegrating - whats the cause and remedy ?

[Jim]

I have an old detached house (c1860). Inside the loft the internal chimney brickwork , the facings and bricks are starting to crumble and fall away Could this just be age or something else , is it best to get someone to come in and replace the failing bricks and remortar ?

thanks

[Stickems.]

It is usually caused by a combination of dampness and frost. When the water in the bricks freezes the ice takes up more space than the water. This expansion cracks the bricks.

[*GED* THE BRICKIE]

Like STICKEMS Said it could be FROST,AGE,or acids from the CHIMNEY,Do you have a FLUE LINER? If not and you have G.C.H. That might be the problem,I cant realy visualise what you mean Is the BRICKWORK crumbling all around the EAVES or is it only around the internal chimney breast? sometimes you must patch up where you have to but only the bare minimum leave well alone if you can.Old propties you sometimes just can not tell what is going to collapse.THE LIME AND SAND GOES SOFT OVER TIME, But the weight generally keeps the walls OK, There are mostly FLEMISH BOND,or ENGLISH BOND,so its all well tied in.

[Andrew Gabriel]

Are any of the flues capped off or fireplaces bricked up with no ventilation? Flues need venting top AND bottom, or they become soaking wet inside, and this will penetrate the whole chimney stack, supplying the moisture for frost damage to the brickwork.