Why should you water seal your masonry? In a nutshell, to stop the elements from breaking it down, thus protecting your investment. Deterioration in masonry is usually caused by water penetration, and then doing one or more of several things to your structure. All masonry is porous to some degree. And, like a sponge, can soak in water. ALL MASONRY IS LIKE A HARD SPONGE

It’s in your best interest to protect your masonry with a good water sealer. While you can and should protect your exposed masonry from the elements, it needs to be the right kind of sealer.  Applying the wrong sealer on your masonry can actually cause it to deteriorate at a much faster rate than if left alone. BrickSmart’s SmartSeal 20 is breathable–allowing water to evaporate out.

Spalling is when the face of individual bricks or stones breaks loose and falls away from the main structure of that brick or stone.  Cracking often occurs throughout the brick/stone.  In most  cases, these happen simultaneously.   Every time it freezes, any water that’s trapped inside the masonry expands and will, in fact, pulverize your masonry from the inside!

Wall ties aren’t supposed to rust–they’re galvanized, right?  Here’s the truth: galvanizing metal does not prevent it from rusting, it only slows down the process.  Every time a masonry wall or patio is wetted with water, some of that water soaks inside.  It’s slow to dry out completely; and if the process occurs repeatedly, the masonry can stay perpetually damp inside.   That portion of the galvanized steel wall tie that’s inside the masonry wall rusts exponentially faster than the rest of the tie.   So what happens?  The metal wall tie that’s supposed to tie the masonry wall to your home or office rusts away, and your masonry wall becomes free-standing.  It’s tied to nothing. We’ve seen this numerous times, sometimes in homes less than 20 years old.

Various types of mold & mildew often grow on surfaces that are repeatedly soaked with water.   Masonry is no different.  In fact, some types of stone are naturally disposed to growing unsightly biological stains on the surface.  When moss grows on stone, it actually holds moisture inside itself.  This can damage your masonry by maintaining moisture against the surface of the stone or brick, thus aiding the spalling effect to take hold of your masonry.