Causes of Defects and Damage to Brick Masonry Elements in Historic Buildings

Ceramic brick masonry elements constitute the largest number of structural systems of historic buildings, especially sacral and public utility buildings. In the past, they were also very commonly used as a material for the construction of military facilities. Historic buildings and masonry structures undergo destructive processes over time, the course of which can be very diverse and depends, among other things, on the physicochemical properties of the materials, the type of structure, the age of the building, working conditions and random conditions and events. The paper is an engineering review of the causes of damage to masonry structures and indicates the need for cooperation between representatives of various specialties of science and technology, in particular architectural historians, specialists in the field of conservation of monuments, structural engineers and specialists in the field of geotechnics, geology, hydrogeologists and meliorators in order to ensure the protection of masonry structures in historic buildings.