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repointing brickwork
Over time the mortar between face brick walls can become loose. Repointing brickwork is the standard method for fixing up face brick walls.
Here's how:
1. Scrape out loose, soft mortar to a depth of 20mm with an old screwdriver. Use a hammer and cold chisel for more solid mortar, being careful not to chip brick edges. Clear chips and dust with a stiff brush.
Blow out any fine dust and slightly wet the surface of the bricks and mortar with a hose pipe.
2. Dry-mix three parts sand with one part cement to make the mortar. Add water to make a stiff, but not crumbly, paste - to the same consistency of peanut butter. If the mortar is too wet, it will splash onto the bricks and have to be cleaned off later.
3. When the mortar mixture is the right consistency, place the mortar on the trowel and push it into the wall joints with a pointing tool, making sure that the joint is completely filled.
4. Once you are happy with the mortar filling, run a pointing tool - available from your local hardware store - over the joints to level and flatten the still-wet mortar so it matches the shape of the old joints and is uniform with the new ones.
5. To tidy up the whole job, sweep the new mortar joints with a brush – it’s best to wait until after the mortar begins to stiffen, in order to remove loose material and match up the textures.
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