For questions generally relating to the artificial stone-like building material typically called "brick", and also related materials like "cinder block" and natural stone blocks.
7
votes
5answers
3k views
How do I remove moss from an outdoor brick walkway?
I've got a brick walkway that has parts that are in shade most of the day. Our winters are wet and cloudy and during these times it's not uncommon for the shady parts of the walkway to grow a fair ...
7
votes
3answers
272 views
Do Old Houses Have a Pre-determined Lifespan?
Taking into consideration the building supplies that were available in that time period for that particular geographic area (say, a major metropolitan city in the mid-western United States), do homes ...
7
votes
2answers
550 views
Should I fill eroded mortar in exterior brick?
There's a few bricks around my house about 40cm up from ground level where the vertical mortar between the bricks has completely fallen out / eroded away.
In a few spots, there's insects going into ...
7
votes
2answers
182 views
Are these brick walls properly constructed?
I'm looking into buying an apartment and I'm visiting some locations. During one of my visits I saw this exterior wall of a future apartment building:
I'm not an expert but it does not look good ...
7
votes
2answers
2k views
What methods can I use to remove exterior paint from brick?
I just purchased a historical house that was painted an ugly peach color. I bought some marine grade paint stripper that I was going to use little by little to strip the whole exterior by hand. This ...
6
votes
2answers
610 views
How do I remove construction glue from brick?
I just removed glued-on paneling from an interior brick wall. Now, I have the task of removing the glue from said brick. What is the best method of doing so? I know there's no getting around the use ...
6
votes
2answers
2k views
How do I repair screw holes in a brick wall?
I have screw holes which were put in to support a curtain rail. The curtain's been pulled out a few times by accident, and now the screw holes are crumbling and I don't know how to repair that portion ...
6
votes
2answers
201 views
Is the back section of this house salvageable or should it be knocked down?
My grandfather's house is getting to be in bad shape after years of neglect and more so the back section of the house is falling apart. Now the back section of the house, if I remember correctly, was ...
6
votes
1answer
1k views
Should I supporting a load via anchors in brick or mortar?
I'm attempting to hang window flower boxes (a metal frame with a moss/fabric insert, filled with dirt/flowers/water for a total weight of about 15 lbs) on a brick wall.
An example of a similar metal ...
5
votes
4answers
4k views
How should laminate flooring be secured next to brick?
I want to install laminate flooring in a family room that has a brick fireplace. Part of the laminate would be directly next to the brick base of the fireplace. What kind of base-board or base-piece ...
5
votes
6answers
4k views
How can I add/alter wiring inside single-brick walls?
Our house is full-brick. Double-brick on the exterior walls and single-brick for every internal wall. It was built in 1979 (I guess they liked to do things properly then).
We've only ever had the ...
5
votes
1answer
173 views
Does my garden brickwork need mortar?
We recently redesigned the walkway through our garden to our back door. This involved lots of scaping of the land -- especially to change the waterflow away from the house. The new walkway ends with a ...
5
votes
2answers
3k views
How can I cut through brick to add a window?
I'm redoing a bathroom and would like to add a window (36x12) in the shower. This involves cutting through brick. A contractor I spoke with said he could cut it with a angle grinder (diamond blade?), ...
5
votes
2answers
2k views
Should I replace old wooden siding with brick?
I'll say first, that this isn't a question about DIY, but more about the idea and whether we should go through with it.
We bought our first house last year, and in the Spring this year, we are ...
5
votes
1answer
306 views
What is the best way to deal with wall tie failure?
My wife and I are considering purchasing a new house, but the surveyor says that it has wall tie failure. What is the best solution for repairing this? Is it really necessary to get the old ties out ...
5
votes
2answers
610 views
How much weight can single-track shelving mounted on brick wall hold?
I'm looking at attaching shelves to a brick wall using single-track metal strips with adjustable brackets. The metal strips will be 78 inches long and I'm planning on using pine shelves 47 x 12 x 3/4 ...
5
votes
1answer
157 views
how to clean up black paint that spilled on exterior bricks
My upstairs neighbor (well she said her cat did it) spilled black paint on her deck/patio last summer. It dripped for 10 minutes down the side of my exterior wall of my unit (outside). It's spilled ...
5
votes
1answer
258 views
How can I resheathe behind brick fascia without removing the brick?
The original builders of my house used a material called "Aluma Sheath", also known as Dennyboard, to sheathe my house. Dennyboard is a radiant coating on two sides of a 1/8 sheet of a fiberous ...
4
votes
2answers
788 views
What type of paint should be used to paint a brick fireplace?
The brick color is hideous. Additionally there are some missing bricks that will be replaced first and would be hard to match.
Is there a particular type of paint that should be used on brick?
4
votes
3answers
2k views
What's the best way to remove a wall plug?
I use wall plugs a lot for putting screws into brick walls.
It's easy to get the screw out when you want to remove them and usually you can loosen the screw a bit and pull and then both the wall plug ...
4
votes
1answer
494 views
How do I remove mortar from bricks so I can re-use them?
I have about 500 bricks to cleanup so I can reuse them, the mortar is old and the bricks are soft clay.
What is the best way to remove the mortar and how much time should I allow?
4
votes
2answers
3k views
How can I remove paint from an indoor brick wall?
I have a red brick wall that was painted. I need to figure out an easy method of removing the paint without damaging the brick. Are there any tried and true methods?
One thing to remember is that ...
4
votes
1answer
131 views
How do I match this brick?
I am trying to find a good match for some 1930 bricks (North West England). Any ideals on makes and model of bricks that will match well.
4
votes
2answers
2k views
What's behind the hard plaster walls?
Most of the walls in the old part of my house are plaster. Hard, nasty, amazingly solid plaster. While this is nice in some areas, there's others that it's rather annoying -- such as on the stairs ...
4
votes
2answers
2k views
How do I replace a bricked in mailbox?
My in-laws have a Mailbox that's a normal looking metal mailbox that's in a brick enclosure. It appears that when it was built, someone just put down mortar, set the mailbox in it, covered the ...
4
votes
1answer
452 views
How can I remove faux brick from a kitchen wall?
My kitchen has these fake bricks placed over the drywall on the walls around the cabinets.
My question is, is there a way to remove just the bricks without completely tearing down the cabinets and ...
4
votes
1answer
808 views
How to seal and paint a rough plaster and brick wall?
This weekend I took down some old cabinets and the support boards that were nailed into the wall. This took down some of the plaster (old water damage took care of the rest). The surface on the photo ...
4
votes
2answers
100 views
Are there any advantages to using higher priced sealers?
I want to use a water based sealer on my pavers to bring out the color and also for some resistance against dirt and fading. I went to the store and saw sealers varying in price from about $11 per ...
3
votes
2answers
3k views
How do I seal seams between bricks on a patio without using sand?
I have a patio that's made of bricks with fine sand filling the gaps. This is turning out to be a maintenance hassle. Every time the kid or dog gets mud or crud on the patio I hose it off and manage ...
3
votes
4answers
1k views
hammer drill not making any progress
Aiming to put some bike hooks into a plaster on brick wall - We've acquired a hammer drill and have been practicing on a spare brick and a backyard cement wall but the drill is just barely / not ...
3
votes
2answers
263 views
Cement around decorative bricks leaves grey/matte coating on bricks
I'm installing a decorative brick wall (individual thin bricks) for the first time. I glued all the bricks and now I'm working on the cement (mortar) around the bricks. I did a few rows yesterday for ...
3
votes
3answers
3k views
How do I cut a channel and plaster television cable work in a brick chimney?
I am buying a new TV, which I intend to mount on the wall.
The wall is a brick chimney breast, early 1900's house. I have heard mentioned on a few sites the idea of cutting a channel, and plastering ...
3
votes
1answer
1k views
What compound should I use to fill drilled holes in cinder block?
I have some holes drilled previously on my house that I would like to fill in. Do they make a liquid concrete in a tube compound that I can squeeze into the holes to fill them in and keep wasps out? ...
3
votes
1answer
116 views
How do I determine the correct rise of a step for a concrete footing on a slope?
Going to be building a retaining wall in the front yard on a slope. I'm going to be using King size residential bricks to make a 2 wythe wall. Because of the slope I'll need to have 3-4 steps in the ...
3
votes
1answer
350 views
How can I build a porch enclosure?
I'm looking to take on this project myself, I want to enclose my porch. It's roughly 2x5 metres, and 8 feet high and is part of a semi detached where the porch continues on the other side to my ...
3
votes
2answers
380 views
Mount an LCD TV to 30 year old masonry fireplace
Power and HDMI are no issue. I'm worried about messing with the mortar. Any advice? Will this be an issue, more trouble than it's worth, etc?
I have some alternatives. Leave my TV on the mantle or ...
3
votes
1answer
3k views
What is the best mix for cement render?
I have some bricked exterior areas that had some cement render on them, and then paint. The render has fallen off the bricks in patches.
I think the problem is that large chunks of the brick work was ...
3
votes
1answer
434 views
Cause of eroded mortar in exterior brick
This question actually reminded me of an issue with my exterior walls. I have the same problem with the vertical mortar being eroded/missing from several bricks at ground level on the exterior of my ...
3
votes
1answer
82 views
What is the sheathing underneath my brick exterior walls?
I am trying to figure out what is inside of my exterior plaster wall that the brick is attached to. The house was built in 1946, has no insulation in the walls, and (oddly enough to me), has drywall ...
3
votes
1answer
138 views
How do I darken new mortar in a brick wall to match the older mortar?
I had some bricks replaced. Unfortunately, the mortar is really light. How do I stain it a darker gray, so that it matches the original mortar? Is there a product that I can buy at a big box store?
3
votes
1answer
398 views
The mortar between my patio bricks is crumbling away
The bricks on my front porch have some sort of mortar that crumbles away more and more every time I pull a weed from it. You could pick this stuff away with an awl but it is not just sand that you ...
2
votes
2answers
284 views
How can I enlarge a hole in a brick wall without drilling?
I currently have a small hole in my brick wall that is bringing a cable for my satellite dish into my house.
I now want to install outdoor speakers in my backyard and I would like to feed the speaker ...
2
votes
3answers
2k views
How should I apply brick to an interior wall?
I don't want to use veneer, I want to use real brick. Is it as easy as using tie-ins to the studs and setting the brick as one would normally?
The existing wall is drywall, So I was thinking of ...
2
votes
3answers
5k views
How to make a 6 inch hole through a brick wall for venting
I'd like to vent my range hood out through an exterior brick wall. How would I go about making a 6 inch hole for the vent?
I'd guess I'd use a masonry chisel to chip out the mortar and then pull ...
2
votes
1answer
345 views
Repair a popped up brick in an otherwise level brick patio
My brick patio is very level. Unfortunately, a nearby tree has sent a root that is now causing a brick to pop up. Before the issue spreads I'd like to pry the brick up and remove the offending root. ...
2
votes
1answer
144 views
How much should brick “give” when pushing against it?
My wife and I are having a home built by a local contractor. The house is wood framed construction with a brick exterior. The home is nearly complete -- just interior trim and paint work remains.
...
2
votes
2answers
647 views
Concrete slab at a brick wall
I want to build a concrete slab (upon which a deck will be build later) at the foot of a brick wall (by foot I don't mean the foundation foot, I just mean where the brick meets the grade level). I ...
2
votes
2answers
189 views
How to fix broken brick staircase?
Short form question: Replacing bricks of a brick stair-case (leading to house), what kind of concrete to use?
Full story:
The staircase leading to my house (from outside) had some broken bricks. The ...
2
votes
1answer
194 views
House Has Different Types of Siding - How to look seamless?
Alright, I am looking to purchase my first house. One of which looks somewhat like the one below. As you can see, it has a brick sided portion and a vinyl sided portion. Obviously this house has been ...
2
votes
2answers
474 views
Would replacing old mortar for new prevent water from seeping through brickwork?
Would replacing old mortar for new prevent water from seeping through brickwork?
I have included photographs just in case this is a special case:
