ABOUT FACTS NET

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Notice the lack or mortar and temporary repairs.

The first thing you need to do is decide what you will need to do the job. Part of the decision will be based on the climate and will relate to how you should dress. It was mostly hot so I elected to wear a hat and a bandana to keep the sun off my neck. I learned this the hard way, after receiving a bad sunburn of the neck. Even though it is very hot working in the sun I recommend a long sleeve shirt and long pants, of course many of you will laugh at this but it does stop sunburn. I guess you could use sun blocker though. A good extension ladder and a sturdy step ladder are also necessary, as is a long outdoor extension cord. When you use the ladders make sure they are on level boards so they don't sink into the dirt making you fall off. If you have the ladder on cement than this is unnecessary. I used premixed mortar type N for above ground work. You will need a plastic bucket for mixing the mortar When you mix it make sure it isn't too watery and don't mix more than enough to use up in about 45 minutes. Put water into the mix a little at a time and stir completely.

Now lets get to the tools. Here is a list of necessary tools:

A grinder with a masonry wheel. Get a grinder that support 4.5 inch wheels and use the 1/4 inch thick ones. I buy them in Home Depot for about $2.50 each. You will go through a lot of them. I used about 20 of them on a 32 X 9 brick front.

A set of 3 cold chisels ranging in size from about 1/2 inch to 2 inches. This will come in hand in reaching spots where the grinder can't get to, to dig out mortar

A 1/2 inch trowel or tuck pointer or joint filler are all the same tool. This will be your main tool for spreading the mixed mortar into the spaces between the bricks. Here is something you should know, sometimes the spaces between the bricks might be less than 1/2" because of sloppy work. The trowel will not fit in a smaller space. When this happens I use a flat screwdriver blade and press the mortar in. After it gets in, I then press with my finger and gently smooth the joint with the blade of the screwdriver blade again.

A brick jointer tool 1/2" is handy for times when you have to press in the mortar and even sometimes for smoothing the joint. Remember to keep this tool clean so the mortar will spread neatly. I wash it off, along with the bucket and screwdriver, each time I mix mortar.

A hawk is not necessary but it is handy. This is basically a flat square of wood with a handle underneath. You put the mixed mortar on it. I actually use the same pail I mix it in and I then turn it sideways and put the mortar on the side. It is harder to hold but I have all the mortar I mixed at hand.

A brick hammer is very handy. Not only can you use it with the cold chisels but the pointed end is handy for getting out old mortar or breaking or chipping bricks.

A stiff nylon brush is required to scrub the bricks when the job is done. This will be only the first cleaning.

An electric drill with a wire wheel will be necessary. The plug in type drill is really needed because you will be cleaning excess stains and old paint off bricks and the battery going dry all the time will just aggravate you.

A wire brush will be needed to clean the brick joints after you grind. Grinding leaves a lot of sandy material all over.

These are the most important things you will need for you health. A good set of shatter proof safety goggles and good face mask. When you are grinding old mortar out of the bricks you will be steadily bombarded with tiny rocks and sand. You don't want to breathe this material in and you don't want in to get it into you eyes. Make sure both the goggles and face mask are tight against you face and there are no spaces between them and your face. When you finish grinding you will be covered with tiny particles all over your body.

Tools left to right: Bandana, Nylon Brush, Smooth Blade Screwdriver, Cold Chisels, 1/2" Tuck Pointer, 1/2" Brick Jointer, Brick Hammer, Wire Brush

Tools left to right:   DeWalt Grinder With Detached Handle, Safety Goggles, Face Masks, 4 1/2" masonry Grinding Wheel

Chuckless Plug In Electric Drill With Wire Wheel Attached

Now I started the project. The first thing I had to do was grind out the old mortar. I decided to treat the front of the house as two walls and I would grind out one third of one wall at a time. This meant I wouldn't have to move the ladder so much. When I was grinding out that portion of the wall, I made sure that I went about 1/2 deep. I wanted the bricks to stick out about 1/4" after I put in the new mortar If mortar was loose I took it out even if in meant going deeper and in some cases a lot deeper. Next I took the wire brush and cleaned out all the joints. I mixed the mortar in a plastic bucket and then wet down the joints on the wall as well as the bricks. This will tend to make the mortar stick better and the bricks easier to clean when you splash them with mortar, and you will, unless you are an expert. You will also drop mortar, but don't worry about it. I inserted the fresh mortar into the joints and smoothed it out. If there is a slight indentation always add material rather than try and stretch it.

I am a very impatient person, so as soon as the mortar dried on the second portion of the wall, I cleaned the first portion of the wall. I cleaned that part of the wall in three steps. First I sprayed down the wall with water and let it dry to see how it looked. This took off all the dust from grinding and it looked a lot better. If there were any clumps of dry mortar on the bricks I took a wooden 1/2" thick handle and used it to chisel off the motor, this doesn't scratch the brick. Now I again sprayed the brick with water and scrubbed any bricks that had mortar stains on them with the nylon brush. This took off most of those stains. Lastly anything that was left was taken off with the electric drill and wire wheel. I also went along the edges of the bricks.

This a the finished portion of the first wall. There had just been a rainstorm, and that is why some of the brick on the right is wet. No broken bricks were replaced yet.

This is how the wall looks after you do the grinding.

I am not an expert, but I took my time. This is not a fast process. I have looked at photos of completed jobs by experts and believe me, they are not any better. If you really wanted to do a fantastic job, you could replace all the chipped and broken bricks. It is not that hard to take out a brick. You grind out the mortar around it and take a cold chisel and chip out the rest. Now here is the tricky part, you have to buy the same type and size of brick. Unfortunately the new brick will be a different shade and may stand out. When you get it, put mortar on the brick below it about 1/3 the way back and on the brick on either side and on top of the new brick also about 1/3 the way back and shove the brick in, taking care not to let mortar ooze out of the hole. Next get you tool and shove in the mortar, making sure it is packed in tight and finish it off even with the rest of the job and you've done it. Now here is where everyone will think I am crazy, especially you contractors out there. I do the whole job first then replace any bricks. I find that as long as I am using the same mortar it won't make any difference except I will be taking out the mortar I just put in around the broken brick. Somehow I feel better when the job is finished first.