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First, a Quick Word About Toronto Weather
Our winters are hard on brick. Really hard.
Every time the temperature crosses freezing—and University of Toronto research shows that happens about 50 times a year here—any water inside your brick expands and contracts. Fifty times. Every winter. For decades.
Add road salt to the mix (more on that later), and you start to understand why brick repair is so common in this city.
The good news? Most problems are very fixable when caught early. The bad news? They get expensive fast when ignored.
~50
Freeze-thaw cycles/year
9%
Water expansion when frozen
114K
PSI pressure (max)
Pieces of Brick Falling Off (Spalling)
What It Looks Like
The face of the brick is flaking, peeling, or crumbling. You might find chunks on the ground, or the brick surface looks rough and pitted where it used to be smooth.
Why It Happens in Toronto
Water got inside the brick, froze, expanded, and pushed the face off. It's that simple—and that unavoidable in Toronto's climate.
Road salt makes it worse. When salty slush splashes onto your foundation all winter, the salt soaks into the brick. As it dries, salt crystals form inside the brick and push outward. That's why spalling is often worst near ground level, especially on homes close to busy streets.
The damage spreads. Once one brick's face is gone, the bricks around it are more exposed to moisture. What starts as one or two bad bricks becomes a section, then a wall.
Typical Repair Process
- The damaged bricks get cut out and replaced with matching ones.
- If your home is older (pre-1930s), the new mortar needs to be lime-based—using modern cement on old brick actually causes more spalling. We'll come back to that.
Crumbling or Missing Mortar
What It Looks Like
The stuff between your bricks is cracked, crumbly, recessed, or gone entirely in spots. You can poke it with a key and it falls apart.
Why It Happens in Toronto
Here's something most people don't know—mortar is supposed to wear out before the brick does. It's designed that way. The mortar takes the hit so your brick doesn't have to.
In Toronto, mortar wears out faster because of our temperature swings (easily 50+ degrees between summer and winter), pollution, vibration from traffic and streetcars, and of course, those freeze-thaw cycles.
One thing to know
Open joints let water straight into your wall. That water freezes, and now you're not just dealing with mortar damage—you're looking at brick damage, and potentially water getting inside your house.
Typical Repair Process
- This is called repointing (or tuckpointing). The old mortar gets carefully scraped out and replaced with new mortar that matches what's already there.
White Powder on the Brick (Efflorescence)
What It Looks Like
White, chalky, or crusty deposits on the brick surface. Usually shows up in spring or after heavy rain.
Why It Happens in Toronto
Water is moving through your brick, picking up salts along the way, and depositing them on the surface when it evaporates. The white stuff is the salt left behind.
Near roads, it's often actual road salt that splashed onto your foundation and worked its way through. On upper walls, it might be salts from the brick or mortar itself.
The white powder itself isn't hurting anything—you can brush it off. But it's a sign that water is moving through your masonry. That same water is what causes spalling and mortar damage. Persistent efflorescence, especially in summer, means there's a moisture problem that needs attention.
Typical Repair Process
- Figure out where the water's coming from. Is the grading sloped toward your house? Are the downspouts dumping water at your foundation? Are there cracks letting water in?
- One thing not to do: seal the brick to "stop" the efflorescence. Sealers trap moisture inside, which makes freeze-thaw damage dramatically worse.
Cracks
What It Looks Like
Cracks in the mortar, in the brick itself, or both. They might follow the mortar joints in a stair-step pattern, run horizontally along one row, or go straight up through everything.
Why It Happens in Toronto
Different cracks mean different things.
Stair-step cracks usually mean part of your foundation has settled differently than another part. Common in older homes, especially on Toronto's clay soils.
Horizontal cracks often mean something is pushing from the side—soil pressure against a foundation, or a rusted lintel above a window. In those 1950s-60s bungalows all over North York and Scarborough, corroding steel lintels are a big one. Steel rusts, rust expands, and it pushes the brick around it.
Vertical cracks at corners can be from thermal expansion—the building expands and contracts with temperature and something has to give.
Cracks let water in. Water causes more damage, which causes more cracks. And if there's actual structural movement happening, it doesn't stop on its own.
Typical Repair Process
- First, you have to figure out why it's cracking. Fixing the crack without fixing the cause is just temporary. Once the cause is addressed, the damaged brick and mortar get replaced.
Bulging or Leaning Walls
What It Looks Like
The wall isn't straight anymore. It might bow outward, lean away from the house, or look like it's separating from the structure.
Why It Happens in Toronto
This is serious. A few possibilities:
- The metal ties connecting your brick to the house have rusted through (common in homes from the 50s-70s)
- Soil is pushing against a foundation wall
- Steel lintels have failed
- Significant foundation settlement
This is the one you don't wait on. A wall that's no longer properly attached to the structure can fail, especially under the stress of a harsh winter.
Typical Repair Process
- This needs professional assessment. It might mean installing new wall ties, replacing lintels, rebuilding sections of wall, or foundation work. Not a weekend project.
"Can This Wait Until Next Year?"
We hear this a lot. And honestly? Sometimes it can.
But here's the math that usually changes people's minds: masonry damage is progressive. A $2,000 repair today becomes $5,000 in a couple years and $15,000 in five. Every winter that water gets into damaged mortar joints, the damage spreads.
Heritage Grants Available
By Neighbourhood
Toronto's diverse housing stock means different areas face different challenges.
- Soft, locally-made brick that absolutely requires lime mortar for repairs.
- Watch for previous repairs done with cement—they often cause new damage.
- Those 1950s-60s bungalows have harder brick, but the steel lintels above windows are hitting the end of their lifespan.
- Parging often needs attention too.
- More moisture exposure from the lake, plus heavy road salt on Queen Street.
- Extra attention to lower courses and foundations.
Next Steps
If you've identified any of these signs on your Toronto home:
1. Take some photos
Get close-ups with something for scale (a coin works). Note the date. This gives you a baseline to see if things are getting worse.
2. Get a mason to look at it
Masonry is specialized. The wrong mortar on a heritage home causes more damage than it fixes. Avoid general contractors for this work.
3. Fix the cause, not just the symptom
Fixing spalling brick while ignoring the drainage problem that caused it is money down the drain.
4. Plan ahead on timing
Mortar needs temperatures above 5°C to cure properly, so spring and fall are ideal in Toronto. Booking ahead usually means better scheduling and pricing.
Noticed any of these signs?
We'll inspect your masonry, document the condition with photos, and provide a clear assessment of what needs attention—and what can wait.