Gary from Hamilton, Ontario writes :I know that brick veneer homes have vent holes in the lower rows to allow air to equalize the pressure and help keep water out. We have just bought a 50 year old solid brick (two layers of brick) house. I notice there are no vent holes and it doesn't appear t...
Yes you can paint a brick fireplace but not of course inside the firebox.The first thing to realise is that once you paint it, you cannot un-paint it. The paint will be worked into the small holes in the brick and will not come back out.First clean the brick as best you can, probably using TSP.L...
Fastening to concrete or masonry? We've got three problems: choosing the right fastener, choosing the right tool and then doing it right. Here is some product information and trouble shooting tips.Power Actuated nailingExplosive shot nailling is the most common but the weakest of the serious ...
Leigh Bamford is a young tradesperson who takes historical restoration, even just old house repair very seriously. With five years of experience, she insists on using old materials and old techniques on old buildings.RemvoialRather than using a power grinder to remove the old mortar from between...
Judy has a pretty messy basement wall and has had several expensive estimates for fixing it.It almost looks like a mould or a fungus growing out of it, starting at a definite line quite high up on the wall.When I looked through the window I could see that the white stuff was starting about a foot...
There are many ways to apply brick mortar to a wall for re-pointing.The traditional method is to slide the mortar off of the trowel with a pointing tool.Some masons use a bag, much like a pastry bag to squeeze it on. With this method you must be careful not to make the mortar too thin, or it wil...
It may look easy when a professional is repointing brick, but there are some things to be very careful about.If you are using a grinder to remove the old mortar, be careful to avoid cutting into the brick. It is easy enough to slide up or down hill with the grinder, and even easier to mess it up...
I have had a few inquiries about how to attach things to outside walls, like signs, wires and Christmas lights without causing any damage.For a brick wall there is a wonderful gadget called the Brick Clip that simply has a spring on the bottom and teeth on the top which grab a brick by inserting ...
Boris lives in a 45 year old bungalow that has no insulation at all. It has a brick outside, an air space, a concrete block wall for structure inside and then drywall. Is it possible to blow foam into the space between the brick and the block?NO. As long as the brick is the weather shield for ...
One viewer was asking why the bricks on his commercial building were falling apart on the bottom of the wall. In the photo you can see another viewer's problem from last year where her bricks fell all apart after pouring a concrete porch right up to the brick level. In her case, the concrete sl...
