I do not have much experience with brick, so … advice needed …
Does anyone have extensive experience with brick who can offer advice on the cost/wisdom of trying to repoint versus relay a watercourse, or other options I might consider knowing it is a high end house that needs a good look (for which I am the developer/builder, so the choices are mine to make)?
I am figuring both repointing and relaying are in the same price range based upon my research so far, so that may not be the decision driver, both appearing to be in the $5-6/sf range.
I have a house with brick circa 1985 (so a hard, wire cut brick) and the morter they used turned pink and looks awful, but it is in good shape which means it may be harder to get it out.
Because of the morter, I’m considering options including repointing to 1″ depth. There are some nice details in the brick work, but nothing not easily repliacted if we want.
The walls are primarily on the 1st level, except for the chimney, so no real scafolding required.
While I would have to repoint the chimney in any case (unless I clad or paint it, which I am considering) I could demo the current brick and save it, clean the bricks of old morter, and relay those walls. There are walls that are being permenantly demoed so I can pick up some extra from there in case it is needed.
The cap is brick and so the pointing needs to get redone, or I could replace it with another material not yet determined.
Other house materials are stone and creamy hardcoat stucco with a few silver/grey tudor details, and the stucco above the brick cap is being redone everywhere so transitions are less of a consideration in decision making.
Replies
Depending on the look you are after, you might be able to get away with staining the mortar. A bit more of an art than even pointing is, though.
Has anyone attempted to acid-clean the mortar?
staining mortar
Have not tried acid cleaning, I can try that but you think that will take the pink out? Would you use Phosporic acid, TSP, or something else?
I'm not familiar with mortar staining but will look into it - would you start by asking your painter, your mason, or a specialty sub?
if you are getting bids in for the same amount for both processes, then i would opt for taking the brick down and re laying it. It will give you a good chance to look behind the brick and update flashing systems used over 20 yrs ago that may not be as efficient as we have now.
i do not see a wash doing anything to the color of your mortar, you probablly have an additive in the mortar to make is the color it is now.
grinding out an inch of mortar will be very labor intensive and messy, if your in a high end neighborhood, you may piss some people off.
what's your source?
"I am figuring both repointing and relaying are in the same price range based upon my research so far..." qualityjob
What is your research based on? I find it hard to believe the cost is the same.
Also, it is generally not very pracitcal or cost effective to try and reuse the brick you are considering demolishing; particuarly if it is not solid brick. If you have ever done even a little bit of this before (or paid someone to do it), then you will know what I mean.
Personally, if your mortar and brick are in good shape and you're just hell bent on changing the mortar color (hopefully to something darker), then I would consider having a painter apply a concrete dye stain to the mortar joints. This will probaby be tedious, but the least costly. Maybe you all can devise a masking system that will allow you to spray just the joints with an HVLP rig at a decent production rate. You can get rather controlled and detailed with something like the Apollo 7500 series gravity assisted guns. Most mortar is very hygroscopic and will readily drink up water based dyes. Probably go darker than what you initially want because it may fade a bit over time. Try to select a dye that made to handle UV exposure. I would at least test an inconspicuous area for results before forging ahead with costly demo. You may save yourself alot of money and not waste perfectly good brickwork. However, If you want a lighter shade, you're probably looking at grinding and repointing. A two man operation with angle grinder/diamond tuck blade and a shop vac will control most of the dust. Clean filter often; like every 10-15 min. of grinding.
A word of caution: IMO, using an acid wash to change the mortar color is a very bad idea. This will eat away at a very thin, but critical, surface layer of the mortar which has been oxidized during the orignial cure process-- making it the most weather resistent portion of the mortar bed. Once this is gone, premature mortar failure begins.
brick pointing
A darker color in the grey-to-black range is the goal and I can experiment on the walls that will be demolished anyway, but it will be interesting to see if you can dye pink to a darker color, which I will try on a test patch. The dye does seem a good option if it works, one I was not familiar with so thanks all, that is what I will try first.
I looked into some of the cleaning products, and there are non-acid cleaning products for mortar that are suppossed to be just as efective, so again I will try on a test patch.
Grats!
Stain the mortar and the brick...
Instead of trying to just stain the mortar and somehow mask the brick...perhaps another option would be to stain the entire brick surface...bricks, mortar and all. Certainly would be a lot less labor intensive...