Cleaning and making good 1905 engineering bricks

[philrobinson]

Hi Guys got a band of 2meters of engineering bricks at the base of the house and I want to clean them up and make them look great and red again.

1 Should i use brick cleaning acid first with a stiff brush or wire brush

2 should I use boiled linseed oil to then rub into the bricks and should you dilute the linseed oil or use it neat.

3 should I bag rub it instead of using the linseed oil and when bag rubbing what mix should I use to get the desired affect

Thanks for your help

Cheers Phil

pointing

• philrobinson
• 27 Mar 2015
• 2

pointing2

• philrobinson
• 27 Mar 2015
• 2

 

[JohnD]

don't use a wire brush, you will scratch them. Careful repointing will improve the look a lot.

They are quite a nice brick but I think not engineering bricks.

If you come across a loose one (during building work, perhaps, or from a similar neighbouring house) see if there is a name pressed into the frog.

 

[philrobinson]

Huncoat Accrington and withnell Plastio

once i have cleaned them would you use linseed oil

 

[philrobinson]

Also would you use a lime mortar or would you use a mastic to repoint with the joint being thin

 

[JohnD]

very nice
https://www.flickr.com/photos/tom-swailes/5001280566/lightbox/

I used to see a lot of Accringtons in a mining district.

We don't see them much down here, though Staff blues are often seen on railway work. A harder brick generally has a harder mortar, and at a previous house I had, of that era, the original was lime mortar with cement pointing, but people argue that it is not right and some would not believe that my family had lived there for four generations and it was original when exposed. I don't know about linseed on bricks.

I expect someone will be along soon who knows Liverpool practice.

 

[philrobinson]

what would you repoint with John

 

[EddieM]

They have started remaking NORI's personally I think they look awful but each to their own. Pointing normal mortar.

 

[philrobinson]

What are NORI'S please

 

[tony1851]

What are NORI'S please

'NORIs' are the famous Accrington pressed brick.

When they were first developed by the company, the brick was going to be called the Accrington Iron because it was so hard.

Because they were formed in a mould, the name was impressed by a die, but it has to be done back-to-front of course. The story is that the initial patterm-maker got the letters back-to-front in the wrong way, hence N O R I.

The older pre-War examples are superb bricks and reclaimed ones fetch a good price -at least up here.