All Questions
74 questions
15
votes
5
answers
67k
views
How do I tell if my house is brick or brick veneer?
I live in a brick house, and am interested in understanding whether it is brick or brick veneer, as a way to understand what kind of risks it (and we) may face during an earthquake.
I hear that brick ...
- 838
5
votes
1
answer
3k
views
Should I try to open filled brick weep holes?
I may have made a stupid mistake.
Last year I found some wasps in the weep hole in my brick veneer house. The problem is that I didn't know what a weep hole was at the time, so I killed the wasps, ...
- 175
5
votes
3
answers
8k
views
How do I avoid this white residue around brick after my first attempt at mortar repointing?
Whole house needs to be repointing so I tried in an inconspicuous area to practice. This white residue appeared and won't come off with a wet sponge.
I'm using Spec Mix tuckpointing mortar type O. ...
- 151
5
votes
1
answer
447
views
What is the best way to drill anchor holes in a chimney?
A structural engineer who designed our earthquake retrofit instructed us to put 3/4 all-threaded-rod (ATR) through the chimney at the rafter line on either side of the chimney, back them with Simpson ...
- 1,215
5
votes
2
answers
915
views
Options for interior brick walls damaged by rotary hammer
I recently removed some very deteriorated plaster from an interior brick wall. I used a rotary hammer and a traditional hammer and chisel. After having removed about half the plaster I stopped because ...
- 375
4
votes
3
answers
52k
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 ...
- 10.4k
4
votes
1
answer
985
views
House being built but I think the brick is poorly done [closed]
So our house is being built and the brick just went up on the house (it isn't structural).
I personally feel that the job was done extremely poorly. I don't know much about masonry but from my ...
- 141
3
votes
4
answers
3k
views
Is there some sort of formula to determine how many bricks I would need to build a completely new structure?
I am looking to add a small ham shack to the property, so I contacted the city's planning department. They said that if the structure was ten feet at most and didn't exceed two hundred square feet in ...
3
votes
3
answers
15k
views
How can I finish and seal an interior exposed brick wall?
I have exposed a 100+ yr old brick wall inside, tuckpointed, cleaned with cup brushes on a grinder, and Sureklean 600. I don't have a picture right now but it looks beautiful.
Two questions:
I want ...
- 7,584
3
votes
2
answers
10k
views
How to repair / reinforce deteriorated footings and subsoil below brick & concrete porch
My fiancee and I recently moved into a 1922 brick craftsman-style home. The front porch has a ~4" poured concrete floor and large solid concrete railing caps (12"W x 4"D). Brick columns support the ...
- 61
3
votes
2
answers
25k
views
How long to wait before cleaning new tuckpointed brick mortar with muriatic acid?
I am about to retuckpoint my exposed brick wall with a custom mortar mix (1x hydraulic lime, 2.5x sand). Once I am done, I plan to clean the residue and other dirt from the bricks using muriatic acid....
- 7,584
3
votes
2
answers
115
views
Removing lintel and bricks for larger wall oven
We have a brick faced wall that housed our 1950s wall oven. The original cutout does not support modern full size 30" wall ovens, due to the cutout height requirements. So, I would like to make ...
- 133
3
votes
1
answer
99
views
When to re-set a brick in a wall?
I have a single-family home with brick all around. The home was built in the early 80s. Some of the mortar is starting to crack here and there. I had a tuckpointer come and give me an estimate on ...
- 459
2
votes
3
answers
6k
views
What type of mortar should be used for small mortar repair on a 100 year old house?
I've read that one should use a special type of mortar with old brick houses because they expand more - portland mortar vs soft lime.
The recommendation from the NY Landmarks Commission states:
Use a ...
- 1,209
2
votes
3
answers
4k
views
Building work on concrete in a very wet environment - natural spring
My garage area, which is currently just a concrete slab for parking cars on, has a natural spring that pops up just at ground level. The water never stops, and the concrete there is permanently wet ...
- 227
2
votes
3
answers
14k
views
Brick veneer falling away from house
I already suspect that I'm not going to like the answer, but I'll ask anyway.
My home has a screen porch, and in this section, the brick facade is starting to fall away from the house. It was caused,...
- 127
2
votes
3
answers
1k
views
Is mortar sufficient for securing an electrical box in brick?
She-who-shall-not-be-disobeyed is asking for a new electrical outlet on the back side of the house. Being the Good Boy that I am, I am willing to oblige her.
If I were to surface mount the electrical ...
- 45
2
votes
1
answer
177
views
Can I retuckpoint my chimney or will it have to be rebuilt?
Can I retuckpoint my chimney or will it have to be rebuilt? The bricks seem solid, but the mortar is in rough shape. Thanks.
- 227
2
votes
2
answers
735
views
Need to Remove and Replace a Hook that is in Concrete
I have a metal hook that has been put into hole in a brick wall using concrete. I am wanting to remove it as a piece of the hook snapped off. What is the easiest way to remove this hook and replace? ...
- 21
2
votes
1
answer
1k
views
Is it okay to install brick veneer directly to interior of a poured concrete foundation wall?
Is it ok to install brick veneer directly to interior of a poured concrete foundation wall, or is there any additional preparation required?
- 815
1
vote
1
answer
264
views
White Mortar-like material oozing out of Chimney's brickwork (pictured)
We do have a masonry expert coming to evaluate the nature of the pictured problem, but I thought I'd pose the question here to get some information and possibly, a second opinion.
There is some ...
- 261
1
vote
2
answers
2k
views
How to clean portland cement off bricks?
We moved into a brick house not too long ago. There are a few areas that were renovated at some point and the mason did a poor job. It looks like some cement was put in after the bricks were laid and ...
- 838
1
vote
2
answers
242
views
Insulating stuccoed terra cotta garage walls
We have a detached garage that's made of hollow clay bricks (structural terra cotta) covered in stucco, both inside and out. I'd like to insulate and heat it for use in the winter. The problem is that ...
- 161
1
vote
1
answer
372
views
Is this masonry roofline intersection problematic? Should it be called out by our home inspector?
Our new house (brick and stone veneer) came with a significant exterior wall leak at a roofline/masonry intersection, so I've been learning more about how these are supposed to be waterproofed, and am ...
- 229
1
vote
3
answers
6k
views
How much mortar between bricks?
Our Chimney was in bad repair, and we had two chimney companies come and and say basically the same thing, it needed to be partially torn down, re-bricked, new crown, new damper door. Ok, so the ...
1
vote
1
answer
107
views
What is this plank above the Joist pocket for
Why does this joist have a wooden plank above the pocket embedded in the wall?
Some of the other Joists in the house do not have this.
- 31
1
vote
1
answer
267
views
What to do about daylight between brick and mortar?
I noticed a small space between this brick and the mortar underneath it on my front porch. It’s wide enough for me to fit a piece of old duct tape into the gap. I’m not sure when it was repointed last....
- 99
1
vote
1
answer
6k
views
Mounting heavy shelves to brick wall
I've an aluminium shelf that's 150cm wide, it came with 8 of these 10x50 plastic plugs and 6x60 universal screws.
I've drilled into my masonry wall with a 60mm deep with a masonry bit and installed ...
- 21
1
vote
1
answer
1k
views
How to fix hairline crack in brick on exterior of house
I have a cracked brick outside my window, and it looks like the crack runs down the mortar to just under the window ledge.
The piece of the brick that cracked off is movable (ever so slightly) if I ...
- 211
1
vote
1
answer
215
views
How to get tar and caulking off brick?
What's the best method for removing dried tar and caulking from brick and getting the brick's surface flat again?
I have a rotary polisher and thought maybe a disc of some kind would work.
- 342
1
vote
1
answer
476
views
Recurrent cracks in brick wall
There are recurrent cracks in the brick wall shown in the image. The cracks have approximately equal width along their length. The cracks appeared within the first year of construction of the house. ...
- 11
1
vote
1
answer
30k
views
Leak above window during rain, is this caused by a masonry drainage problem?
I've lived in the same brick rowhouse for about 2 years. It's been raining for 36 of the last 48 hours, heavily at times, and I am seeing some rain leaking to the inside: above one of the larger ...
- 552
1
vote
1
answer
267
views
How to fill recess in fireplace before tiling
I wish to tile a fireplace pictured below
The brickwork has a recessed area directly above the firebox (pictured below)
This recessed area measures 28" x 8" x 1-1/2"
I wish to tile over the recessed ...
- 221
1
vote
1
answer
89
views
Should I hire a mason to repair wall damage with incorrect brick?
A month or so ago I had an electrician in who accidentally put a hole through the brick wall of our house that now needs to be repaired.
From what I can gather, because I live in an older house the ...
- 173
1
vote
1
answer
1k
views
Is a wooden buck necessary when installing windows into full width brick?
I'm looking for pointers on installing a new window into a full width brick wall. Pictures are here. They are the basements windows in a rowhome. There's a slanted brick sill on the bottom. The brick ...
- 111
1
vote
1
answer
74
views
Additional brick veneer to existing construction
I am looking at a home that is a 2 story colonial. The first 10 feet or so from the ground is brick veneer (one row thick), and the upper story is vinyl. The vinyl is looking pretty bad. Is it ...
- 207
1
vote
0
answers
38
views
What compressive strength are historical Kreischer yellow brick?
I've asked a variation of this question before around using soft mortar for historical brick - and I've seen variations of recommendations on using Type O mortar or some other hydrated lime mix.
...
- 1,209
1
vote
0
answers
69
views
Having doubts about my mason
I have just hired a young mason for a few projects, one of which was to patch a hole in the brick wall and the other to build a low garden wall. I hired him on the basis of pictures that he texted me ...
- 1,597
1
vote
0
answers
12k
views
how to patch hole in interior chimney wall
I was recently removing plaster from the interior wall of my chimney and discovered a huge hole that had been patched by some drywall.
The chimney is still used to vent my furnace and water heater, ...
- 375
1
vote
0
answers
152
views
What aspects of bricklaying are most important structurally vs aesethically
I've seen homes where the mortar is squeezing out between bricks. This appears pretty sloppy must still be structurally sound. It seems that the pointing of the joints is just an aesthetic choice. ...
- 131
1
vote
2
answers
4k
views
Can I add thin brick veneer directly to interior plaster
I have an interior plaster over wood-lathe wall that I'd like to cover using thin brick veneer. The plaster wall is generally in good shape (though some patching will need to be done for some ...
0
votes
2
answers
114
views
Can top of brick wall be level?
I understand it is preferable that brick wall tops be sloped so that water drains off instead of permeating into the wall causing accelerated decay. One of the reasons I would like to leave it flat as ...
- 7,584
0
votes
3
answers
795
views
Basement outlet on exterior wall oozing water [closed]
I walked downstairs and saw my outlet oozing a brown substance. Guessing it is dirty water from the outside (I have a sprinkler going and it is hitting this part of the house). Also guessing it is ...
- 379
0
votes
1
answer
3k
views
Filling mortar cracks with caulking instead of tuckpointing
I would like to paint some brick walls so I need to fix some cracks in mortar.
For bigger cracks, I removed the old mortar and tuckpointed but that is a painful, dusty and time consuming job. If I ...
- 7,584
0
votes
1
answer
4k
views
Safety concern building a fire pit out of reclaimed bricks
I have a bunch of reclaimed (broken) bricks left over from building a patio. The bricks are from an old home that was knocked over and buried for some time. I would like to use these to build a fire ...
- 318
0
votes
1
answer
133
views
Is my contractor guy doing a botch up job with repointing
Is my contractor guy doing a botch up job with repointing.
Is it normal that it's drying out all cracked up like this and it's easy to crumble.
They are only using the masonry cement type S and color ...
- 123
0
votes
1
answer
2k
views
Leveling first row of CMUs on uneven slab
So I may have a couple to many beers when pouring the slab for my new outdoor fireplace, and "forgot" that I needed to pour it level and not follow the slop of the patio. Whoops...
https://ibb.co/...
- 67
0
votes
1
answer
4k
views
Stone, Brick, Concrete. Which material is the heaviest per cubic inch?
I'm building a mobile fence and and have limit space to hold down my poles.
I wanted to know what is heaviest material per cubic inch.
Stone, Brick, Concrete... or What?
This is the limited space I ...
- 1,396
0
votes
2
answers
978
views
How do you know if a home with brick veneer is masonry or frame? [closed]
How do you know if a home with brick veneer is masonry or frame?
https://www.bing.com/maps?osid=d8f9b72f-6595-407c-a618-2c14fbb501d5&cp=30.69822~-87.076315&lvl=19&dir=365.8949&pi=0....
- 1
0
votes
1
answer
9k
views
Best and thinnest way to cover masonry brick wall with drywall
I am remodeling my 1950s home and I have exterior walls made out of masonry bricks (cinder bricks). The interior of the bricks has been painted many times over. I've been given 2 basic ...
- 233