I have a shift in the brick on the side of my house and it's driving me nuts, the way it looks. I want to take out the bricks and replace them in the proper location, but adjusting the mortar width to make up the gap. The gap is only on one side of the affected bricks, so I'll have to cut the mortar on the remaining three sides to get the bricks out. What kind of tool/bit do I need to cut mortar? I know how to replace the bricks (clean, soak, remove all traces of concrete from hole and brick, soak new bricks, etc.) but I don't know how to get the old ones out. I thought something like a Dremel tool that is electric might work with the proper bit. Any ideas?
a 4 1/2 inch grinder with a masonary blade or a abrasive blade be carefull this tool will eat you up if not careful. if it kicks back you had better be wearing leather gloves.or have your insurance paid up. my thumb is a 14 inch shorter than the other
Posts: 1583 | Location: i i live in southern mississippi | Registered: Jun 01, 2008
Thanks, Frodo, but I don't use power tools like that, and I'll have to be up ten feet off the ground, too, so that is not an option. Not much to do if I cut my thumb off except fall ten feet and break legs, too. Smaller power tools like the Dremel I mentioned would be safer. I can handle a drill pretty well, so I thought a Dremel would be do-able. If I can get a masonry bit long enough to cut through the mortar joints. I guess Lowe's or Home Depot can help me answer the question. It's possible I can rent something there, too, and if so, they can show me how to safely operate it. And you aren't encouraging me by telling me you cut your thumb off!!!!!!!!!!!!
Hmmm frodo does have a sense of humour which grows on you. I'm sure he meant well and was cautioning you while teasing on the side. Since you are going to be up that high, you might consider using a drill with a 1/4 or 3/8" masonary bit and drill only in the mortar at various intervals around the problem brick. A dremel tool may work but you will go through quite a few bits using it. Then use a hammer and a masons chisel (or an expendable slot screwdriver) to break out the mortar between the holes. Use tapping strokes and break it out in small chunks. Also using the drill & bit and wiggling the drill from side to side while running will help clean out the mortar. Even drilling on an angle through the mortar will clean it out some. Patience and perseverance will allow you to remove the brick and cleanup up the hole and other mortar around it. When you buy the drill bit also consider getting a pointing trowel as it will allow to scrap mortar off the trowel into the space between the bricks and push it back packing the space more easily and effectively.
If you buy a bag of cement to mix up to replace the brick, buy a bag of mortar mix and you will very likely have 3/4 of a bag left over once you are done. Put it inside 2 plastic garbage bags and close it tight to keep it dry for another project. When you mix the mortar add a small amount of water to the cement a little at a time much like baking and making a well in flour and folding the flour into the liquid in the center. Mix this until it is firm and if more dry cement is around it add a small amount of water and continue mixing so nothing is dry the mix is firm and not runny. Wetting your hand and shooting your fingers out at the mix will add small quantities which will allow you to continue working in a firm mix but more easily with no lump or clumps. Once the mortar is all around the brick, use a wire brush to clean up any excess cement around on other bricks. Then allow it an hour or 2 to set up and go back with an old broom handle or such (large wooden spoon handle) and work it into the mortar edges rounding out the mortar. Use the wire brush to clean up the bricks again. The next day fill a spray bottle with clean water and wet down the mortar to improve the curing. Also wash your tools once you are done with the mortar and it will come off easily. Waiting will only make the cleaning more difficult.
Good Luck!
This message has been edited. Last edited by: Simply Me,
you'll burn a Dremel up before you see any difference in the mortar. I'd frankly chisel the stuff out the old-fashioned way if it's a couple of bricks.
if a section of the wall has sagged away, it's possible the hold straps nailed to the sheathing have pulled loose or rusted away in places, and the whole section of the wall is sliding away to fall sometime soon before we all die. a pretty fix for today won't save that.
might be worth calling a mason to look this over before getting too energetic.
sig: if this is a new economy, how come they still want my old-fashioned money?
A 4-1/2 angle grinder and a diamond blade is the way to go on this one. A Dremal tool would takes hours and a grinder will take min. Also the slot your making needs to be deep enough to hold the morter in place. To shallow and your waisting your time. Use a morter bag to apply the morter. It looks like a pastery bag.
joecaption
Posts: 11199 | Location: Halieford VA | Registered: Jan 31, 2004
using a dremel's like taking a knife to a gunfight UNLESS you need an excuse to buy it just get a stable ladder, 4" grinder, & tuck point blade,,, you'll also need a hammer & brick chisel for banging on the mortar you can't reach w/the 4" diamond blade.
do we need to also include safety glasses, dust mask, & ear plugs on the equip list ? ? ?
I second the 4-1/2" grinder and grout bag. Once you learn how the grinder works it is really quite simple. With the guard attached you will only be able to get approx 2" depth. I buy my blades on special 3 for $9.99.
rocksister.. i was teasing you..and trying to caution you on the prober, safety equipment that your should wear. using a grinder, is really no big deal. just let the tool do the work,and don't push it or try to hurry it along. a drill is more likely to hurt you than a grinder. it can get bound up in,a brick tie and twist your wrist.just make sure that your are steady,and comfortable on the ladder, before starting your task. and as rendoverfarm said..pratice first to get aquainted with the tool and you will be fine. one last thing, it is never a good idea to work on a ladder, with no one else present. if something happens "god forgive" you need someone to be able to laugh at you!!
Posts: 1583 | Location: i i live in southern mississippi | Registered: Jun 01, 2008
Great suggestions, guys. BTW, the brick is not attached to a wall, it is a solid brick outer wall only, there are no studs and not anything underneath, brick inside/outside only. This is on my later-added utility room, and it's unfinished brick on the inside, where the shift is also visible because there is not a supporting wall with studs. I live alone, so I'd only have to laugh at myself. I have drilled holes in mortar joints to hang new shutters just this summer; I might start there and chisel out the rest. I don't have the budget to buy power tools anyway. Thanks, everyone.
I'd be very careful with that brick wall. If it has shifted and this is visible both inside and out and there is no other support, then the shift indicates that there may be a problem with the footing which is what is supporting all of this brick wall. In time that whole wall may collapse. I had a house once which was a double brick veneer much like yours and had a contractor working on it. During the excavation for an addition the ground under the footing was under cut and this started a chain reaction in which 15 feet of my back wall 25 feet wide collapsed into the excavation for the addition. Fortunately, Only bricks can down leaving the rest of the structure standing. I can laugh about it now as it allowed a basement doorway between the main building and the addition but at that time it was quite worrisome.
You may wish to have a pro check out your back wall to determine what is actually taking place.
Back in the old days before all the power tools a brick hammer and a narrow cold chisel was all you needed to release a brick from a wall. The first brick takes the most time. Just some patient chipping until the mortar is removed on the top and the sides. Then tap the chisel under the first brick and it will pop loose. The next brick only requires one side cleaned. After that, a little strategic chipping and a tap or to will loosen the rest of the bricks that need to be reset. It will be a good thing to wear eye protection.
Resetting the bricks is more frustrating than difficult. First you need to have a clear vision of what you want the results to be. For tools, a small (8") brick trowel and a half-inch joint trowel plus maybe a joint finishing tool as well. Then lay a mortar bed for the lowest brick and tap it to the height you want. Fill the ends and do the next bricks up. After you've relaid four or five you'll have the idea on how to do it. Remember for the next few days you can easily pull the bricks back out to do it better. My only concern is that the new mortar won't be a color match with the old mortar.
JdN
Posts: 7516 | Location: Elkader, IA, USA | Registered: Mar 07, 2004
i used to watch the older brick layers, lay brick. they use there trowels to cut the brick now adays, they use a wet saw. they say its better, but the old buildings i see look better than the new ones... makes ya wonder..........
Posts: 1583 | Location: i i live in southern mississippi | Registered: Jun 01, 2008
