Special "mortar chisels" fit perfectly between the bricks, allowing you to get rid of loose or poor mortar without disturbing the brick. Whenever you are going to add mortar to existing brickwork, you must make sure that the layer of new mortar will go as deep as it is wide. That is because it ...
Andrew is restoring Toronto's Old City Hall, resetting, repairing even replacing some of those old sculptured blocks that sit high up on the wall.One of his challenges is making mortor that will act and look like the original stuff. One way that he accomplishes that goal is to grind up whatever ...
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...
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...
When the mortar on your brick is breaking up a bit, or scaling off, you cannot simply put a skim coat of new mortar over the old, it will not hold. If someone has done that before on your house you know it doesn't hold, that is why you are redoing the job now.Mortar sticks to the brick, not t...
Connect to your favourite weather forecaster and look for the following conditions:
Category: Masonry Product: Brick Mortar
Temperature Limitations: Use above + 5 C (+40 F)
Rain Limitations: No standing water or wash out prior to setting
Wind Limitations: Protect mortar if wind will d...
Connect to your favourite weather forecaster and look for the following conditions:
Category: Masonry Product: Latex mortar patch mix in a tube
Temperature Limitations: Use above +4 C (+40 F) and below +38 C (+100 F)
Rain Limitations: No rain for 12 hours
Wind Limitations: n/a
Humidi...
Lime was the primary ingredient in most stains in the old days -- it was called a 'lime wash'. It can be used to stain all porous materials including masonry, concrete, and stucco without causing any of the moisture problems that modern finishes may cause.
Given the need to use traditional mater...
An ivy covered wall
John from Mississauga, Ontario writes: "We recently bought a house that was half covered in ivy. We didn't like it and we were told to cut the roots and let the ivy die and then just tear it down from the walls. We cut the roots and let the ivy die but we noticed all these li...
