Point me in the right direction

[Robster_1981]

Sorry about the title

Some of the pointing at the back of the house needs doing, both on the yard wall and the rear wall of the house under the DPC. I'm going to have a go at it myself, but need a few tips:

Do I just buy any old sand and cement, or is there a specific type for pointing?
What is the best method for mixing manually?
I was going to use a mini grinder to clean out the joints first, is this advisable?

Also, we have a few spare bricks in the shed, so was thinking of building a step as it's about a foot drop from the back door, can i just lay this directly onto the flag stones? (they are securely cemented down)

Sorry if these are really obvious questions

 

[bobthebender]

I am pointing one of my houses at the moment and using 5 parts building sand,1 lime and 1 cement but mine is a stone house and yours may be brick and you won't need the lime.
I am chopping out with a lump and chisel and mixing by hand in a wheelbarrow because it is a slow job so i don't mix too much at once.

 

[Robster_1981]

Thanks for the reply.

I've just started with a hammer and cold chisel chopping out the mortar.
The wall is in a pretty bad state, and after i've knocked out a line of mortar underneath the top row of bricks, there are a few loose bricks and the joints are full of dirt.

I'm a little worried that if i knock out all the old mortar, the wall will collapse is it best to do one row at a time?

Oh, and do i need to clean out the joints fully of dirt?

Thanks

 

[Robster_1981]

Sorry to post again

I've pointed 3 rows of bricks on the wall. I was using a hawk and pointing trowel with a 3:1 mix of sand/cement. I found it difficult to press the mortar into the joint and ended up getting a lot on the face of the bricks. I was also having trouble doing the vertical joints.

Now i've finished them off it doesn't look too bad, but I would like to have a better go at it tomorrow, so is there a decent method to use? and I have a jointing tool (about an 8" rounded bar with a kink in the middle) whats the best way to use it?

I've done a search and found that it can be easier with a dry mix, but not sure what this means!

 

[bobthebender]

Sorry Robster but i'm only a dumb plumber
And my old stone house does not have to be so neat as your brickwork so perhaps some nice person with more knowledge than me will help you out better than i can.
You can buy a mortar gun but i don't know much about them

 

[Robster_1981]

No worries mate, thanks for the advice

I'm not too fussed about it being perfect as it's the wall at the back of the yard. I just like to do a job right, even if i have to learn while i'm doing it...this usually means that 75% of the job is crap and the last 25% looks ok

 

[Aqua]

Mix your sand/cement 4 : 1 or 5 : 1 if you require a more sandy finish.

You will find it easier to mix the compo dry in a barrow before adding water, if the compo drys up a bit in the barrow as you are working, knock it up a bit with some more water.

Use a good size brick trowel and a gauging trowel or brick pointer.

When you have the compo on the brick trowel tap the underside of the brick trowel with your pointer, this stops the compo falling off your brick trowel.

When cleaning out the beds and perps start at the top of your job and work down, same when pointing up so as not to drop compo on your finished work.

When the compo has started to go off, give it a light brush over with a soft brush to finish the job.

Take your time, you don't need to do the whole wall in one go but don't leave any unpointed for a long time as rain will penetrate.

Use a chisel or little angle grinder as you like but don't go to deep, 1 inch should be enough and fill completely with compo.

Good luck.

 

[Robster_1981]

Thanks Aqua

Got up nice and early this morning to get cracking and it's pi**ing it down
Only thing is, i don't have a barrow, so i'm using a bucket to mix the sand/cement. It runs out quicker, but it's not a huge wall so shouldn't be a problem.

 

[bobthebender]

I will show you mine if you show me yours

Before,During and After.

 

[jonny7913]

bob your pointing would had looked so much better doing a birds beak on that stone,having said that its not a disaster