Just saw a crew using silicone caulk on brick veneer in downtown Pittsburgh

I was walking past a job site on Penn Avenue yesterday and watched these guys seal up a whole facade with silicone caulk instead of proper mortar repair. I mean, I get that it's quicker and probably half the cost, but that stuff doesn't breathe at all. Has anyone else dealt with having to rip out silicone work later because it trapped moisture behind the bricks?

3 comments

3 Comments

angela68715h ago

Three days on a job last year in Lawrenceville pulling out exactly that. Homeowner paid us $4,000 to chip off silicone someone slapped on five years ago. The brick behind it was crumbling like wet sand, and the mortar joints were mush. That's Pittsburgh winters for you. Water gets in, freezes, expands, and just destroys everything.

susan13017h ago

...and then in two years they'll be wondering why the bricks are spalling and the wall looks like a wet sponge. Silicone might seem like a quick fix, but it's basically wrapping the whole facade in plastic. The trapped moisture has nowhere to go, especially in Pittsburgh's freeze-thaw cycles. I've cleaned houses where previous owners tried that shortcut, and the interior walls were bubbling with mold from all the trapped humidity. That caulk job is going to cost someone a fortune later when they have to tear it all out and replace half the bricks.

davis.adam16h ago

bubbling with mold" - yeah, that stuff spreads through the whole house before you even know it.