Education Centre Garage

Background
The exterior glazed brick has not had any spalling problems here because the building is not heated, and therefore there is no moisture or thermal gradient. However, the building has a number of other problems. The large horizontal crack under the second floor slab and the diagonal cracks inside the doorway are due to deflection of the slab (movement due to its own weight and the weight of its load) after the construction of the wall.

Cause
Lacking a soft joint, this slab is crushing the wall. Note that the masonry tends to break in a 'step' pattern along the mortar joints, which are weaker than the brick itself. This is a serious structural problem that is relatively expensive to repair.

Inside the doorway you can also see that the cracks have been admitting moisture, which is causing efflorescence and some spalling.

Solution
In this sort of construction a "soft" joint with the freedom to move needs to be placed in between the slab and the wall to accommodate deflection and differential thermal movement; this is accomplished by using a compressible structural sealant, which maintains the integrity of the envelope while allowing movement.