Mexican bricks blamed for crumbling homes
When you think about brick, the word sturdy probably comes to mind. Yet hundreds of North Texans are running across a similar problem: the brick on their homes is crumbling to pieces. If you don't have the problem yet, don't think you're safe either. Experts say what they've seen is just the start

Mexican bricks blamed for crumbling homes
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
By SHELLY SLATER / WFAA-TV
DALLAS -- When you think about brick, the word sturdy probably comes to mind. Yet hundreds of North Texans are running across a similar problem: the brick on their homes is crumbling to pieces.

If you don't have the problem yet, don't think you're safe either.

Experts say what they've seen is just the start.

                            See Video Report
       
        WFAA-TV "You can easily crumble the brick in your hand," said Tina Belcher
        describing the condition of her home's exterior.

"You can easily crumble the brick in your hand," said Tina Belcher.  Builders bricked Belcher's brand new home in south west Grand Prairie with Mexican brick.

In no time, she noticed something odd in the backyard.

"I would hit the brick with the lawnmower, and I'm like 'okay, where are these bricks coming from?'" she said.

It turns out, they were falling off of her house, piece by piece.

"The bricks in the back, like I say, were just like a cracker, they would just crumble," said Belcher.

"We've had homeowners tell us they could actually stick a knife through the brick," said Gregory Graze, who represents the Brick Industry Association, Southwest.

He says hundreds of homes, from McKinney to Fort Worth, have seen this problem.

"It's just a matter of time before the brick fails and turns to powder," said Graze.

Graze says brick was in short supply during the housing boom around 2004.

So builders bought in Mexican brick to make up the difference.

The problem: we now know not all Mexican brick is treated for severe weather.

Belcher's brick, like so many others, was only good for moderate weather.

"Because the brick has not been cured properly, moisture gets in the brick, then it freezes, it expands, and then it thaws. It destroys the integrity of the structure, it's as fundamental as that," said Graze.

"I was just really waiting for something to cave in, no I was not safe, I didn't feel safe at all," said Belcher.

It took four months, but Belcher's builder replaced the brick for free.

Now that builder is suing the brick manufacturer for not reimbursing the cost to repair homes.

City inspectors and the North Texas Council of Governments are working to close a loophole in the law that allows moderate brick to be placed on North Texas homes.

That way, in the future, putting homeowners like Belcher through this, would be illegal.

"You put a lifetime into a home, a lifetime, and then you discover your home is faulty," Belcher said.

Experts suggest before buying a home, ask the builder if the brick is American-made Severe Weather grade brick.

Then get the answer in writing.

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