Mortar Repairs
 

I have a building in western Kentucky that was built in the 50's that I need to do mortar repairs on. It is a large industrial building and the walls are 2 to 4 bricks thick depending on location. I want to do the work myself and know next to nothing about it, and don't want to do more harm then good.

I have read through a few of the mortar mix threads and from what I hear it is really important to use the right mortar to match what was originally used so, need to know -

How do you tell what kind of mortar was used on the building originally?

How do you tell what kind of bricks your building is made of?

Is there a safe mix to use if you don't know either of the above?

PJ