How To Repair Crumbling Stone Wall

Masonry: How to Repair Mortar Joints

Updated: Jun. 27, 2022

A beginner'south guide to tuckpointing, or replacing mortar joints

FH10MAR_REPMOR_01-2 Family Handyman

Crumbling mortar in brick walls and chimneys has to be cut out and replaced to avoid structural and h2o damage. Tuckpointing—cleaning out and remortaring the joints—is easier than it looks if you have the correct tools.

Tuckpointing

Crumbling masonry joints showtime out ugly, and then things get uglier fast—bricks come loose, water seeps behind the wall and bees make their homes in the mortar holes. Let it become and the problem won't go abroad. In fact, the deterioration will accelerate and you'll have a much bigger fix on your hands. But you can mend the mortar joints yourself with a procedure chosen tuckpointing.

Tuckpointing isn't difficult or expensive—the only real investment is your time. Merely yous can pick abroad at information technology in your free time, surface area by area.

The steps we show hither will piece of work on any brick walls, chimneys and retaining walls. Tuckpointing won't set swell or crumbling bricks, or cracks in walls caused past a shifting foundation. Those problems call for more drastic fixes that we won't encompass here.

Pick up tools and materials

Commencement and foremost, y'all'll need an angle grinder with a 4 or four-1/four in. diamond bract. Don't bother renting one unless you only have several feet of bad joints. You tin buy an inexpensive model for a few dollars more the cost of a one-day rental, and even a fairly cheap ane will do the play a joke on (unless you're a serious tool junkie or y'all have an entire business firm that needs extensive tuckpointing).

You'll also need a few unproblematic, cheap specialty hand tools that are available at masonry suppliers and some domicile centers. Yous'll need a brick trowel and a tuck pointer. If you take concave mortar joints, y'all'll need a masonry jointer that's the width of your joints. For flat joints, you'll need a articulation raker. If y'all have just a few areas that need work, use a hammer and cold chisel to knock out the erstwhile mortar, simply for more than all-encompassing work, plan on getting a rotary hammer drill fitted with a flat chisel to make the task go a heck of a lot quicker. Y'all tin can rent one for a half-day or solar day. If you have days' worth of work, rental costs tin break the banking concern. In that example, spend the coin to own one.

You'll also need mortar mix. A 60-lb. bag costs a few dollars at home centers. If yous demand colored mortar, take a small piece of the old mortar to a masonry supplier and ask for help finding a mortar dye to match. But be aware of this—fresh tuckpointing e'er stands out against older mortar. However, it will eventually conditions to match.

Showtime pocket-sized
If you but have a few joints to tuckpoint, dive right in. But if you have a large wall to tackle, start in a pocket-size surface area to go a experience for the operation earlier you start hogging out entire walls. You lot'll hone your skills and go a good idea of how much you can tuckpoint at one time. You'll have 30 to 60 minutes of working time one time you mix the mortar.

Go fix for the dust
Tuckpointing is a muddy business. Grinding the joints creates a dust storm, with chunks of mortar covering the footing. Spread a driblet material on the ground to catch the mortar then cleanup will take minutes instead of hours. Close your house windows to keep out the dust, and tell your neighbors who might be afflicted to do the aforementioned.

How to remove mortar from brick: Grind out the joints

Photo ane: Grind the horizontal joints beginning

Grind along the elevation and bottom of the horizontal joints to remove mortar. Get every bit close to the bricks as you can. If you grind against the bricks, the dust will turn the colour of the brick.

Photograph two: Plunge-cut the vertical joints

Grind both sides of the vertical mortar joints. Plunge the grinder into the articulation and piece of work it up and down to brand the cuts. Simply be careful non to grind the bricks in a higher place and below the joints.

Earlier you can put new mortar in the joints, yous take to cut out the damaged material. And so how practice yous remove mortar from brick? Start by grinding the top and lesser of the horizontal (bed) joints with an bending grinder (Photograph 1). Hold the grinder with both easily to keep information technology steady and avoid grinding into the bricks. Yous only need to grind 3/4 in. into the mortar.

Starting time at outside corners and piece of work inward. That keeps you from putting extra pressure on the corner bricks, which could knock them out of the wall. After you lot've finished the horizontal joints, do the vertical (head) joints (Photo 2).

Knock out the mortar

Photograph 3: Hammer out the mortar

Keep moving the rotary hammer drill along the joints as you chisel out the mortar. Be sure to keep the chisel off the bricks so you don't knock them out of place.

Use the rotary hammer drill to pound the mortar out of the joints. Fix the drill on the rotating way (it puts less pressure on the bricks). Once more, piece of work from the outside corners inward (Photo 3). Keep the chisel signal in the mortar joint and keep moving the hammer. The drill makes quick work of removing mortar, but be careful. The powerful tool tin also knock out bricks. If that happens, accept them all the way out, chisel off all the mortar, then reset them when you lot fill up the joints.

There'due south really no secret to knocking out the mortar. Just hold the drill at well-nigh a 45-caste bending to the wall, squeeze the trigger and picket the mortar fall out.

Caution: Wear centre protection—mortar pieces can go flying!

Clean out the joints

Photo four: Sweep out the joints

Utilize a modest broom to sweep droppings and dust out of the joints. Inspect the joints for any remaining stubborn mortar and knock it out with the drill.

Photo 5: Requite joints a bath

Stick a castor into a saucepan of water and rinse out the joints. Your goal here isn't to make surfaces pristine, just to go rid of chunks and dust.

Once you lot've chipped out the damaged mortar, utilise a hand broom to sweep the joints. Sweep away mortar clumps and the dust (Photograph 4). Use the rotary hammer drill to bust out stubborn chunks.

And so wash out the joints with water. Just don't hose down the wall or you lot'll soak everything, including the ground where you'll exist standing or kneeling. Instead, make full a bucket with h2o and castor the water into the joints (Photo 5). Don't worry about slopping water onto the bricks—you desire them damp before you fill the joints anyway.

Mix the new mortar

Photograph six: Whip up the mortar batch

Mix the mortar to the consistency of peanut butter with no dry spots or clumps. You'll know the mix is right when information technology sticks to your trowel when you lot hold information technology at a 45-caste angle. Allow the mortar sit for 10 minutes earlier using it.

If you're tinting the mortar, stir the dye and the mortar mix in a bucket before adding the water. Dye is typically sold in one-1/2-lb. bags. Mix one-quarter of the dye with one-quarter of a 60-lb. bag of mortar mix. Stir in water until the mix is the consistency of peanut butter (Photo 6).

The mortar will last 30 to lx minutes, but you may need to add water to go on information technology workable. After 1 hour, throw out what's left and mix a new batch.

Piece of work the mortar into the joints

Photograph 7: Fill the joints

Load your brick trowel and hold information technology next to the articulation. Work the mortar into the articulation with your tuck pointer. Pack the articulation full earlier moving on to the side by side one.

Employ a brick trowel and a tuck pointer to pack the mortar into the joints. Most pros adopt this method to using a grout/mortar bag. Mortar that is manus packed is more durable.

Scoop mortar onto the trowel. Hold the trowel side by side to the joint, and then press the mortar into the joint with the tuck pointer (Photo 7). Pack the joint until information technology'southward flush with the front end of the bricks.

Tool the joints

Photo 8: Strike the mortar joints

Drag the jointer forth the vertical joints and the horizontal joints. Apply gentle pressure to tool out the ridges where the joints intersect. Finish one joint earlier moving on to the next.

Let the mortar in the filled joints set for about xxx minutes. If you're tuckpointing a large area, continually check the first joints y'all filled to see if they're ready to tool (finish). Check by pressing the filled joint with your thumb. If your thumb leaves merely a slight impression, information technology'southward ready to tool. If it goes in deeper, wait 5 minutes and try over again. Merely don't let the mortar become also stiff—it tin start to harden after simply 30 minutes, making it difficult to tool the joints.

If you want rounded joints, press a masonry jointer into the top of vertical joints and pull the tool down. The jointer will push out some of the mortar and leave a concave shape. For horizontal joints, start at a corner (Photo 8). Run the tool about halfway across the joint, then stop and terminate tooling from the other side.

For flat joints, identify a joint raker over an former joint to set the depth. And then run the raker along the new joints to make them flat.

Clean the bricks

Photograph 9: Wipe down the bricks

Scrub the mortar off the bricks with a stiff castor. This also knocks down and smooths out whatever high spots along the articulation edges.

Once the joints have set upwardly (nearly 30 minutes later on tooling), use a stiff-bristle brush to clean dried mortar off the bricks (Photo 9).

If the mortar refuses to come off, expect three days, then utilize muriatic acid (sold at home centers). Utilise 10 parts water to 1 function acrid (add together the acid to the h2o, not the other mode around). Caution: Exist sure to wear eye protection and condom gloves when working with acid. Castor the acid onto the bricks with a stiff-bristle brush, scrub the bricks and let the acid fizz. Then rinse the acrid off with water. If there's nonetheless a little mortar residue left, treat it again.

The acid tin can slightly change the bricks' appearance, and then test it on a small-scale area beginning. If it does change the appearance, increment the ratio of water to acid.

Required Tools for this Project

Accept the necessary tools for this DIY projection lined up before you beginning—you'll save time and frustration.

Yous'll also need a brick trowel, a masonry jointer or joint raker, a pocket-size broom, safe gloves, and a strong bristle brush.

Required Materials for this Projection

Avoid last-infinitesimal shopping trips by having all your materials set ahead of time. Here's a list.

Originally Published: June 27, 2022

Source: https://www.familyhandyman.com/project/masonry-how-to-repair-mortar-joints/?trkid=soc-fhm-facebook

Posted by: brewerhistat.blogspot.com