Assessment of load bearing clay brick masonry for analyzing long-term durability through field measurement and visual review

This thesis examines a load bearing clay brick century home research house in Toronto (Canada) which has recently undergone the addition of polyurethane foam insulation on all interior sides of the exterior clay brick load bearing walls, increasing the insulating value in areas to RSI 7.9 W/m2K, on average. This study introduces and advances techniques to create high-resolution stitched mosaic images of the elevations to visually document the current physical condition of the brick. The critical saturation point was used to determine the capabilities of the clay brick masonry to resist freeze-thaw damage by way of frost dilatometry testing and compared to measurements taken by in-situ moisture content sensors in the brick masonry. This project also reveals how bricks expand and deteriorate in non-uniform manner during saturated three-dimensional dilatometry testing.