WHITE marks are slowly leaching out and light fittings are becoming corroded, and despite assurances from Bathurst Regional Council, bricklayer Michael Simpson has fears the city’s bicentenary flagstaff will suffer.
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The $700,000 flagstaff was the centrepiece of the city’s bicentenary celebrations in 2015 and just a year since the official celebration it is looking markedly different.
Obvious white marks are spreading across the red bricks and the lights placed to light up walkways and stairs have become corroded.
Bricks N More bricklayer Michael Simpson said the deposits are known as efflorescence and while it is not uncommon, it can effect the integrity of the structure.
Efflorencence is crystaline deposits of salt that leach out of the bricks, he says, due to the ongoing wet weather.
“Salt can damage hard products like metal, it could even possibly break down the strength of the brick,” he said.
“Sometimes the face might crumble or fall apart."
Mr Simpson said salt was a natural product in many of the quarries where the products to make bricks are sourced, and some quarries are saltier than others.
He said, however, that there is a product that can be painted on to neutralise the salt in the bricks to stop it leaching out.
Bathurst bricklayer Greg Lack agreed that ongoing wet weather was the cause of the salt being leached out.
He said the reason why the flagstaff’s bricks look salty compared to other brick structures in Bathurst is that houses do not get as wet because they are not backfilled with soil.
“Compared to a brick veneer house, it wouldn’t be as wet for as long,” he said.
Mayor Gary Rush agreed that the salt leaching was a natural occurrence, but said it will not cause any damage to the brickwork.
“The bricks have previously been cleaned to remove the salt, which washes off with water,” he said. “Once the bricks dry out the salt starts to come out again.
“We are not sure how long the process will continue for, but it isn’t causing any structural issues with the bricks.”
Another Bathurst bricklayer Tim Anderson said because the bricks in the flagstaff are still new, the salt sill has not had time to fully leach out.
“It’s part of the curing process … eventually it will all wash off with the rain,” he said.
“It doesn’t effect the strength [of the structure].”