Hi All-
I've recently removed the mortar from the inside of an exterior wall in my DC brownstone. The wall is on the end of the end-unit rowhome. After removing the mortar, I discovered the brick was covered in a black tar like substance. I believe this was either used to seal the wall or give the mortar something to stick to.
I'm having trouble finding a way of getting the tar off. My goal is to expose the beautiful brick underneath. This is a lot harder than I originally thought.
Any suggestions? I would like to avoid staining the brick itself. I've tried dry ice, but couldn't keep it on there for long enough to use it. If I could keep it on for long enough, then I could freeze the tar and chip it off. Any ideas for how to keep the ice on there for long enough? I.E. plastic of some sort.
The tar itself is fairly brittle as is and does come off, but its a big wall with a lot of space to cover. I've also though about sandblasting or soda blasting, but that is tough to do given that it is indoors.
Any help is appreciated! Photos below.
I've recently removed the mortar from the inside of an exterior wall in my DC brownstone. The wall is on the end of the end-unit rowhome. After removing the mortar, I discovered the brick was covered in a black tar like substance. I believe this was either used to seal the wall or give the mortar something to stick to.
I'm having trouble finding a way of getting the tar off. My goal is to expose the beautiful brick underneath. This is a lot harder than I originally thought.
Any suggestions? I would like to avoid staining the brick itself. I've tried dry ice, but couldn't keep it on there for long enough to use it. If I could keep it on for long enough, then I could freeze the tar and chip it off. Any ideas for how to keep the ice on there for long enough? I.E. plastic of some sort.
The tar itself is fairly brittle as is and does come off, but its a big wall with a lot of space to cover. I've also though about sandblasting or soda blasting, but that is tough to do given that it is indoors.
Any help is appreciated! Photos below.
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