If I ever see the DPO again, I’m going to smack him hard. With a crowbar.
I started prepping the back of the house for painting this weekend. While scraping the flaking paint off the brick, I kept knocking out a poor repointing job. Oh well, I think to myself, par for the course, add yet another delay to the renovation. Then under one of the second floor windows, I realize that instead of repointing the brick with mortar, the DPO repointed with CAULK!! After destroying a dozen blades and two hours later, I managed to cut all the caulk out of the joints.
Anyhow, for the masons out there, what is the best technique to repoint the vertical joints? I’ve got a handle on all the horizontal joints, packing the joints off a loaded hawk with a tuckpointing trowel, but I just can’t figure out a good way to do the same for the vertical joints… Any suggestions?
Thanks,
Z
Replies
Don't know what DPO is, and I'm not a mason, but I've done enough tuckpointing....
Why don't you just pack the joints off a loaded hawk with a tuckpointing trowel?
It involves some contortions but it's the same thing as the horizontal joints.
I usually make a mess smearing it in with a bricklayer's trowel then clean it up with a raking tool.
That's what I was doing, but I didn't know if there was a better way (or different tool) to make it easier. Especially while hanging off scaffolding 30ft in the air, I like easy.I'm happy to know that I wasn't going about completely assbackwards ;)Thanks,
ZP.S. DPO = Dipsh*t Previous Owner
Aren't there bags you can fill with mortar and squeeze it out into the joint (similar to bags used to put decorative icing on cakes)? That might work, but would be tiring! Could maybe make a sort of chute by curving or bending something like plastic or a piece of flashing--step flashing would already be "V-shaped," so the mortar would be easier to get into the joint. Or something like an empty quart bleach bottle, cut side off and scoot the mortar down the neck into the joints.
You'll hate me, but I had an old chimney just used now for exhausting heating boiler and water heater and I used a special mortar mix caulk. At that time I could get it with lots of sand in it and it was very rough and sticky--clothing it got on had it on through washings for years, so it was good stuff. It is still holding in the chimney too, but doubt that it is the "preferred method" of repointing! In my book, whatever works is fine! This stuff came in tubes and was supposed to be used on foundation or driveway cracks, I think. The replacement stuff I've seen doesn't have much, if any, "sand" (silicon dioxide, I'd guess) and doesn't work as well.
I have one, and I've tried it, but perhaps my mix is off, since I couldn't actually get any to squeeze out. I'm using Type-N PCL mortar, masons lime, and sand, in a 1:1:4 mix that is just wet enough to ball up, but not so much that it dribbles out of the joints. Z
I hold the pointing knife upside down and just push a few globs in there till it's filled. Also, do the verticals first, so you can push the edge of your hawk in the horizontal joint. It's meticulous but if you just keep going at it, doesn't take too long. --------------------------------------------------------
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If your going to use a chuck gun, use type S and keep it wetter
the you really should for pointing.
Just fill the joints at first, then when it sets up go back and
compress the mud in. Then let it set till it won't smear at all.
Then dress it up.
If your going to do it proper, use rather stiff mud. I mean know chance of smearing.
A brick trowel will work, but I prefer a margin trowel. Whatever
your tool choice it need to be fairy small and accurate.
After that, your just gonna have to drop most of it till you learn.
reloadable caulk gun....
load it with mortar...
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Load up your brick trowel and shake it off, take your pointer and tap the bottom of trowel, now with the pointer swipe about two inches off the trowel and into whatever you mixed in. Now hold the trowel uphill slightly and with your jointer take an upward swipe off the trowel, you kinda have to roll it off, press pretty hard. If your mix is right it will stick to the jointer and you can place it right in the joint vertical or horizontal. Practice and you will see it is easier and less of a mess than using a hawk.