Brick Repair

Slick Will

Has anyone used hydrostaic cement to repair outdoor brick work?

The bricks on both sides of my garage door are failing at ground level. This is most likely due to ice melt , salt, & poor drainage.

I have not been able to match the brick in any of my 3 visits to various suppliers, so I was considering filling in the small voids with that fast setting, exspanding cement that is used to repair rod holes in basements.

I would make small forms and then use the concrete to create a kind of cap about 8 inches high. Following that I though I would apply a sealant and work at improving the drainage

Any suggestions? thoughts? ideas?

Thanks?

Ron6519

This is not a use for hydraulic cement. Use a regular mortar mix.

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Ron
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Slick Will

will that fast setting (15 min) QuickCrete work for this job?

Ron6519

Since when is masonry work like a fast food meal? Use regular mortar mix and let it run it's course.
Isn't the material you suggested a concrete mix?
And where do we use a concrete mix? Look it up, Quikrete has a website.

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Ron
"They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety."
B. Franklin 1759

Slick Will

Why thanks for all your help RON 6519! I never called myself a journeymen, mason or a pro. but I did join the forum to ask questions, any a few dumb ones so that I was sure to get the jobs done correctly. don't know how long its been since you were a newbie but just in case you forgot there are a lot of choices for the uninformed as they walk the asiles of the local big box store, and not always the most informed sales people either! so please excuse my ignorance as relates to cement, motar, Quikrete type S type N and everything else that relates to this brick world.

PS. I checked the Quikrete website as you suggested, and they do offer a fast setting motar!

- my reason for desiring a fast setting solution is that I have 4 kids and 3 dogs; so the faster I can stop chasing them away from the new work more time I have preventing them from breaking something else.....

Minich

What do you mean by the brick is "failing"? Is it literally crumbling, unfit to reuse?

Slick Will

The brick has begun to have its faces pop, crack and crumble.

I had the same thing happen to my cheminey when I bought the house and was told it was due to improper capping, age and wheather. That repair has held up very well and looks great as the previous owner had a stack of left overs, which are now all gone.

AGWhitehouse

The face poping is called spalling (the a drawn out like in awl). This all is result of excess moisture in the brick. If a brick is loose, pull it out and take a look to see what is going on behind. There should be weep holes at least every 24" at the top and bottom of the brick wall to allow for airflow behind the brick so it can dry. Without the "airspace" remedied so the system can dry, your patches will only be temporary.

They fixed the cap on your chimney which mitigated the water issue there. The air space and weeps is the "cap" for your wall base.

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Ron6519

It makes no sense for a novice to work with a product that requires expediency.
Good luck with the job.

__________________
Ron
"They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety."
B. Franklin 1759

Minich

Everyone learns sometime and in their own way, Ron. And what makes no sense is running around a help message board spouting anger and misdirected superiority. Take a rest from the keyboard and watch some good TV. Back to the conversation about brick and mortar...

Ron6519

I gave the guy guidance based upon my experience and his initial post which showed unfamiliarity with the job and it's materials. I don't know where you get "spouting anger and misdirected superiority " from.
There are Moderators here that will oversee inapproriate posts, so why don't you let them do their job if it warrants.

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"They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety."
B. Franklin 1759

itsreallyconc

pissing newbies off & those who ask stupid questions is MY job / calling on this forum,,, ignorant questions are fine, tho !

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if you hear it from a guy in the apron store, be VERY suspicious the mtl/method will work,,, when it time to build something together, they won't answer phones NOR help
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Slick Will

Thanks for the info guys - I did a bit of investigate and found te weep holes blocked at the bottom. it appears the landscaping need a regrade aroound the garage to clear them- totaly blocked. (the wife hired a kid to while I was away on buiness) I also found the down spout to be a problem on one side becasue the dogs had knocked off the extension.

Due to Rons post - I decided to take a couple of pics to a local mason and ask my questions again. Surprisingly the fast setting mix was recommended (not the hydrolic)

It looks great! It actually took longer to build a nice set of forms than to due the rest of the work. I will post a few before and after pictures soon. I was able to add a bit of a slope to the tops of my caps to help with watershed thinking every little bit helps.

And as I thought there was no need to hire a "Professional" for a couple of hours ( 4 hour minimum @ $$$$/hour) when a bit of guidence, $7 bucks and some scrape wood solved the problem. it was a bit more work than tuck pointing but didn't require a lentiel, under pinning, or butt kissing.


Thanks again guys, but now I have one more question for all of you....

any suggestion on what t o do with the left over mortar???? I have about 1/2 a bag left....

Jackofall1

Unless you are planning another project involving mortar, once openned the bag won't last long as the mortar absorbs water and will turn into a hard solid mass within a 6 month time frame.

Mark

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