The Masonry Repair Guide To Help Restore Damaged Brick After Settling

If there are a lot of problems with your foundation settling, you will want to have repairs done. Sometimes, the problems can affect the brickwork and masonry features. Once you have paid for structural repairs, you are going to need to fix the brickwork. The following masonry repair guide will help you repair brick that has crumbled due to foundation problems:

• Removing Severely Damaged Brick—After you have addressed the issues causing your foundation to settle, remove the severely damaged brick. If there are areas where brick needs to be removed, and some of it cannot be reused, you will want to save all the intact brick. These materials can be used later to ensure the damage is not notable once the repairs have been completed.

• Repairs for Mortar that Has Been Damaged—Sometimes, the damage to masonry is in the mortar joints. If this damage is left unrepaired, it spreads and gets worse. It can even cause the brick to crack and have problems with water. Therefore, if there is damage to the mortar joints where foundation repairs have been done, you will want to fix them as soon as possible. All the mortar in these areas can be replaced before it causes the problems to get worse.

• Tuckpointing to Renovate Settling Brickwork—Tuckpointing is a method of finishing brick that can also be used for masonry repairs. This is a method of using different colors of mortar to create the illusion of clean, attractive masonry. First, a brick-colored coat of mortar is applied like stucco. The mortar joints are then applied to make them look neat and perfect. Tuckpointing can be a great solution where wear and damage is too severe for other conventional masonry repair methods to be used.

• Blending Materials For Matching Masonry Repairs—The problem with repairs to brick is that the damage can often be seen after it is fixed. This is due to the new mortar and bricks not being faded or stained like the old. Therefore, you will want to make sure to mix and match new and old bricks for repairs to be less noticeable. The new brick should be mixed in with the old masonry to make the changes in color and repairs less noticeable when they are completed.

These are thing things that need to be done to repair brickwork after foundation damage due to settling. If you have recently repaired problems with your foundation and still have unsightly damage to the brick, contact a masonry repair service like A-1 Rooftop Chimney Sweep for help with fixing these problems.