Things You Should Know Before Repairing and Replacing Brick

Damaged, deteriorating, missing, and loose bricks on your wall can collapse your home`s structure. It can cause damage to property, loss of life, or injuries if left unattended. Such conditions call for brick repair that you can fix on your own if having proper tools. Extensive damage or one on solid bricks will require you to seek professional help.  Ensure you fix the problem early enough to avoid spending too much on more complex destruction. Ideal brick repairs should match with the rest of the existing brickwork.

How You Can Tell Your Bricks Require Repointing

A home`s brickwork is part of the exterior that can go unnoticed by many homeowners. It is recommendable to regularly check for brick mortar erosion, damage, and crevices on your wall. Durable and solid brickwork saves you the costs of repairs that may arise in the future. The following signs are indicators that your walls require brick repointing.

Efflorescence – You may notice white deposits forming on your brickwork caused by water that contains salts dissolved rising to the surface. The design used in assembling your brickwork can cause efflorescence that seems unsightly. Such a condition calls for brick replacement as a remedy.

Damp – Crumbling plaster or decaying timber flooring can indicate rising damp. It is also caused by inadequate pointing to the brickwork and penetrating damp from water that shifts from a high part to another part further down. A high standard brick repointing can help provide a solution to this problem.

Damaged bricks – A home with brittle bricks looks unsightly from a distance and can let moisture penetrate your interiors. Brick replacement is an ideal remedy for seriously broken bricks.

Unsuitable pointing – Poor brickwork pointing can cause your wall to pick up the damage fast. Modern cement mortar can trap moisture and prevent it from escaping from mortar joints. The moist then appears on the brick faces where it freezes to ice, causing the brick surface to crumble.

Inappropriately cleaned surface – People who use ineffective cleaning methods on their brickwork expose it to more damage.  A cleaning method such as abrasive cleaning can remove the brick`s protective fired surface. Ensure you use an eco-friendly cleaning method that cannot cause damage to your brickwork.

The Procedure of Replacing and Repairing Brick

An effective brick repair process will require you to have a hammer, cold chisel, regular trowel, brick jointer tool, tuck-pointing trowel, and mortar mixed in a bucket. After you can follow the following steps;

Removing crumbling brick – The first step is to break out the pieces of the brick from the wall using a chisel and a hammer. Ensure you do not break any of the bricks in good condition. Use the chisel to clean out any debris and remove loose bricks by hand.

Remove the old mortar – Replacement brick will require fresh mortar to align to the rest structure; therefore, it is recommendable to remove the old mortar. You can clean out any leftover dirt and dust and hose down the cleaned spots.

Mix the new mortar – The new mortar should match the existing one using the appropriate ratio of water and other additives.

Set in the new brick – Apply mortar on the space where you will place your brick which should be about one inch thick. Ensure the brick and mortar is wet before binding them together. Add more mortar using a pointing trowel and remove the excess that overflows.

Ensure everything is damp – The newly repaired area should remain wet for the next three days. You can use a sprayer or a hose to wet the new bricks and mortar.