Brick Fretting to Sub-Floor Piers
Brick Fretting to Sub-Floor Piers is a critical soil & foundation defect SURE inspectors have documented across 17 inspection reports.
Causes
- External moisture source (ponding near walls)
- Salts due to moisture
- Ground movement
- Settlement
- Moisture
Symptoms to look for
- Bricks breaking down to powder form
- Bricks breaking to powder form
- Sinking footings/piers
- Visible erosion of mortar joints in sub-floor brickwork
- Mortar between the brickwork is eroded
Remedies
- Engage a qualified brick layer and drainage expert for advice and recommendations
- Engage a qualified bricklayer and drainage expert for advice and recommendations
- Remove external moisture source if possible (ponding near walls)
- Engage a carpenter or bricklayer for repairs
- Maintenance and packing
Get an inspector through this property.
Findings in this category skew high severity. If you are under contract, we can usually book inside the cooling-off window. Every inspection includes 12 months of free advice.
Curated entries in Soil & foundation
- Curated 1–4/5Trees in Close Proximity to Dwelling
Large trees within the foraging radius of the dwelling - typically any tree within 3 m for small species, or within 10 m for large eucalypts - introduce two distinct risks: root-driven soil moisture fluctuation that causes differential footing movement on reactive clay, and a direct termite foraging corridor between a timber food source in the crown or root system and the building structure. Neither defect is always present, but the proximity constitutes a conducive condition that warrants ongoing monitoring.
- Curated 2–5/5Reactive Clay Soil Movement Affecting Foundation
Seasonal expansion and contraction of reactive clay soils causing cyclical foundation movement, wall cracking, and floor level changes. Prevalent in Sydney Western Suburbs and some Perth clay zones. Severity depends on soil class (H, H1, H2, E) and footing design adequacy.