By yisiwa December 16, 2025 - 12:38am

I bought a house last year with an older brick walkway. I've started noticing that some of the bricks look like they're "shedding" — the surface is chipping and flaking off in places. I read that this is called "spalling" and is often caused by moisture freezing and thawing inside the brick. The mortar between some bricks also looks a bit crumbly. Has anyone tackled a repair like this themselves? I'm trying to figure out if this is a straightforward repointing job I can handle over a weekend, or if the damaged bricks themselves need special treatment. I found a useful resource that explains the technical reasons behind spalling and the brick restoration process which has me leaning toward calling a pro, but wanted to check for any personal experiences first. How urgent is this, and what should my first step be?