Mortar to crack diamonds with

[Billy the Kid]

Doing some repointing for/with a mate.

I would say the property is late 70s/early 80s. Just in case the photos dont work, its the opposite of of the norm, for the most part, the mortar is fine, too fine, its the bricks that are flaking and leaving behind a nice mortar framework. We're both of the opinion that the mortar is too hard for the brick. So gonna repoint (and replace damaged bricks). The thinking behind the repoint is that if a weaker mix is put in, this should wear away before the bricks. Using a diamond blade for the most part, great, but for underneath the eaves, its been a nightmare trying to knock this stuff out. Took 2 bricks out today, each one took about 30 mins, were not professionals but were not complete novices. Drilled round the brick, into the mortar, couple of bangs, nothing, drilled holes into the brick, couple of bangs, nothing, got the chisel drill out, this thing usually disintegrates a brick within 30 secs, several minutes later, 90% of the brick is out, mortar still inplace with drill holes in it. Chip away at this for 10 mins with bolster. Theres just no give with this stuff. Havent got a question, just want to tell everyone what a bad day im having (lol). Somebody said it might be accrington brick, my experience of that is the smooth engineering type of brick. It is slightly longer than a standard brick. Not gonna use lime cos i shouldnt imagine theres any in there already, more likely to be granite, so a sand/cement mix of 4.5:1? Open to all advice, want a mix that will wear gently, and tips on difficult brick removal. If the photos do work, the bricks that have been replaced werent done by us.

 

[JohnD]

//www.diynot.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=99672

 

[Billy the Kid]

http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh248/diyspecial/IMG_0040.jpg
http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh248/diyspecial/IMG_0039.jpg
cheers

 

[JohnD]

was the brick damage caused by a leaking gutter or something? Some of those repairs look like they might have been to a crack.

 

[Billy the Kid]

No, in that its a gable end and theres no guttering running along the top, its not specific to these two areas, its worst in the mid/lower section of the wall but fairly even spread all over. Its in a bit of a wind tunnel, in that its a semi opposite an alley.

 

[Billy the Kid]

Can i use a pressure washer to wash the bricks down

 

[bludger]

Hi,

In the good old days, the bricks and mortar were equally matched for strength by a local craftsman who knew his local materials. The idea was that any ground movement would affect the wall equally. If the mortar was too strong, any subsidence would cause a crack to travel through the bricks: if the mortar was too weak, the crack would travel through it and not the bricks. If the materials were properly matched, the wall might just lean a bit.

This doesn't seem to apply now and I'm not sure that it applies to your problem. If the bricks are spalling away, it may be that they are just substandard for the exposure conditions. My initial thought was that will be very difficult to make the wall look good - an all-over render might just be the best long-term solution.