3D Laser Scanning for brick and mortar

The Bad about Brick

If you were to build a house today, building it completely with brick would probably not be your choice. A whole house made of brick is a recipe for disaster. Many third world countries still have people living in brick structures. Disaster follows when earthquakes happen those areas.. That is not to say that bricks have no use. They are perfect for beautifying a house. Many people love the look of brick and mortar. It has a classic appeal to it. The only problem though is that brick does not maintain itself well. Brick has a tendency to crack and become brittle with weather changes. It is also prone to trap moisture in which leads to mold. Over time the brick starts to crumble. For this reason, those who choose to use brick need to monitor their siding. They can use 3D laser scanning services to do this.

Keep an eye on it

As they say “An ounce of prevention is better than a pound of medicine”. Keeping an eye on the stability of a structure is important. One way that brick structures can be monitored for its integrity is by using 3D laser scanning. As time goes on, once sturdy brick buildings can start to crack, warp, and shift. Bricks and mortar do not expand and contrast with climate change.  They don’t adapt well with change in temperature. Those bricks can come toppling down if problems get too serious. That can lead to property damage or even serious injury. 3D laser scanning can be used to find weaknesses in the brick and mortar.

3D Laser Scanning It

Doing 3D laser scanning services on a brick structure is a pretty simple concept.  A 3D laser scanner, scanning software, and some hard drive space is what it takes to do a scan. The scanner is basically a device that measures distance. The two main parts are a sensor and a laser. The scanner shoots a laser beam out against the surface of the brick. The sensor on the scanner reads the distance as it reflects back. That distance is recorded as a point. A cloud point is then created as the laser hits the every part of the surface of the brick including the cracks and bumps. This point cloud can then be used to make a 3D image.

A few Weaknesses of 3D Laser Scanning

The integrity of the entire brick structure can then be analyzed once that 3D image is constructed from the point cloud,. There are, of course, obvious disadvantages to a 3D laser scan. Most 3D laser scanners can only do surface scans. This means that it is not going to give you information about what is going on inside of the brick and mortar. Therefore, the inner integrity of the material will deduced from the what is happening on the surface. Another disadvantage is that the scanner can only retrieve information on spots that aren’t obstructed. That can be problem when there are drain pipes and bushes in the way.

The reality is that bricks will always need to be kept watch over as as long as people keep using them on their houses. If it is a job that must be done then we might as well use 3D laser scanning services.

Keep reading: more articles about 3D scanning

Leave a Comment