[vettegc]

New construction...I have a wrap-around porch that looks great when wet but then it dries and looks dusty. The house is also brick so part of my concern is that if I need to acid wash it then it might not match the rest of the house. What do I need to do?

Acid wash?
Sealer? If so what kind?

 

[gregzoll]

Comes from the finishing. Clean off with TSP and it should pull that mortar residue off of the bricks. Power wash, let dry and then use a good sealer on it. Go to the regular Concrete yard, or just call back the mason who did the porch and they can clean it and seal.

 

[Canarywood1]

New construction...I have a wrap-around porch that looks great when wet but then it dries and looks dusty. The house is also brick so part of my concern is that if I need to acid wash it then it might not match the rest of the house. What do I need to do?

Acid wash?
Sealer? If so what kind?

Are you saying that your porch is a Brick wrap around?, and why would you do an acid wash on it?

 

[vettegc]

why would you do an acid wash on it?

Idk...was thinking that the brick may not have been cleaned as well as it should have been and the acid would remove the left over morter?

 

[gregzoll]

Again get the mason company out there who did the porch and have them finish the job. I would have never signed off on getting the keys, until the whole Punch list of stuff that was not done before as contracted, was fixed.

If they screw up the washing and cleaning, if the Acid Wash goes wrong. It is all on the Mason company's back for that one.

 

[Canarywood1]

Idk...was thinking that the brick may not have been cleaned as well as it should have been and the acid would remove the left over morter?

I think your right, that looks like a really sloppy job, the contractor needs to get that cleaned up.

After it's cleaned up it would be a good idea to use a water repellent instead of a sealer, and not anything from the box stores, something like this link i'll post, or Sherwin Williams has a good product also.

http://www.prosoco.com/Content/Documents/Product/WS_Siloxane_PD_PDS_062013_C.pdf


I should have said be sure whatever you use, be sure it's a silane/siloxane product.

 

[vettegc]

Again get the mason company out there who did the porch and have them finish the job. I would have never signed off on getting the keys, until the whole Punch list of stuff that was not done before as contracted, was fixed.

If they screw up the washing and cleaning, if the Acid Wash goes wrong. It is all on the Mason company's back for that one.

The problem is that I couldn't tell it when they 1st laid it because the bricks were wet. I don't think I will be able to get them back now. Is there something I can use to clean it?

 

[concretemasonry]

It will never look the same to the eye because the two surfaces walls(vertical) and floors(horizontal) get different lighting and exposure, so they like always look the somewhat different for color and sheen.

Dick

 

[Canarywood1]

The problem is that I couldn't tell it when they 1st laid it because the bricks were wet. I don't think I will be able to get them back now. Is there something I can use to clean it?

You have at least a one year warranty on new construction, contact your builder, and list your location, there's a reason for it.

 

[ZTMAN]

I would have never signed off on getting the keys, until the whole Punch list of stuff that was not done before as contracted, was fixed.

.

Keys??? There is not even a door knob on the door.

 

[jomama45]

As a concrete & masonry contractor, I wouldn't want you to mess around with acids, or anything else. It's undoubtedly your contractors job to take care of that mess. Perhaps they forgot to come back and clean it?

 

[Tscarborough]

Give us a picture of the brick in the wall, it may be as Dick says, not a matter of cleaning.

 

[vettegc]

Give us a picture of the brick in the wall, it may be as Dick says, not a matter of cleaning.

attached

 

[Tscarborough]

It looks like they used colored mortar on the wall (or it is considerably older than the porch) and grey on the floor. Either way, it needs to be cleaned, that is all.