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It is not as easy as it sounds to repaint bricks or stones. If you’re not an informed consumer, masonry repairs can cause damage and even destruction to old homes. Your home’s safety is your responsibility.
The destruction of your home will be caused by pointing brick or stone done by professional masons or homeowners as instructed by brick makers on repointing in Seattle brick.
While most masons are skilled and experienced in building brick walls, you need to be careful if your home is older. There is no problem with working with old brick. Here’s why.
This applies to homes built in the early 1900s or earlier. Modern brick is harder because it is fired differently.
Wood shingles may be present on your home, but chimneys and foundation walls made of brick or stone should not be overlooked. The masonry of old homes will eventually need to be repaired as time goes by. The mortar that holds the stone or bricks together deteriorates. Cracks form and allow water to penetrate. If you don’t pay attention, the freeze-thaw cycle can cause bricks and stone to break off and fall on your head.
How can you prevent this from happening? Repoint the mortar.
Repointing bricks or stones is the process of removing about 1 inch mortar and replacing it with new mortar. This is a common practice, and all masons do it. Their knowledge of the type of mortar they should use is what’s the problem. The wrong mortar can cause irreversible damage.
Portland Cement is a major component of Mortar today. It makes it very hard and strong. Portland cement is useful for some applications but not all. Portland cement is fine, but it must be used in mortar mixtures in a lower proportion when working with some materials.
1. It is important to remember that mortar must be less compressive than the bricks or stones it surrounds, and must have greater vapor permeability.
2 The mortar it replaces must be slightly softer when repointing brick and stone. This can be achieved by using less Portland Cement and a lot more Lime and Sand.
The wall must allow moisture to evaporate. Too hard mortar will cause moisture to escape through bricks and stones that are softer. This can cause permanent damage, such as cracking or spalling.
Mortar types for repointing brick or stone.
Here are some things you should know
Mortar is available in different types. Types M, S. N. O. K., and L.
Type M is the strongest type and has the most Portland Cement. Type L is weaker and more fragile and contains less Portland Cement. Type L is the softest and has no Portland Cement.
For most historical masonry applications, Type N, Type O and Type K are preferred. This is something that masons don’t know. Ask your mason to recommend a type of mason. That is the test. Play dumb at first.
Fake shopping
Forget Home Depot-type stores. I wanted to speak with the professionals in concrete, block, sand, and other businesses that specialize in masonry.
Clayton Concrete Block & Sand, a large company, was contacted recently by me. I told them that I had 150-year-old bricks that needed to be repointing. I asked them for Type S. They suggested Type S. I didn’t know what to do with the 150 year old brick so I asked if they had Type O or K. !
I called another office, and Type N was recommended. However, this sales representative was unaware of the soft mortar types. If I had relied on the pros in the business to provide information, I might not have my foundation 10 years later. Attention Buyers!
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