I am a complete noobie in Diynot.com so please forgive me if I have made any errors.
I have a 1950's semi and the pointing below the DPC has been repointed at some time in the past. This repair has "blown" with some sections falling away. This prompted me to have a look at repointing the brickwork below the DPC (The pointing is OK above the DPC).
The repointing can be pulled away in most places with a tool so as to expose the original mortar. The original mortar looks very damp and very crumbly ( I can almost rake it out with my finger). I chose a head joint as a test section and was able to rake/push a small chisel right through to the cavity. I estimate that all the mortar is in a similar condition to the test section.
My question is, do I just rake out to 25mm and repoint over the crumbling mortar or do I need to look at getting all the mortar replaced. If I do need to just repoint it, do I use a cement:sand mix or a cement:lime:sand mix?
I have a 1950's semi and the pointing below the DPC has been repointed at some time in the past. This repair has "blown" with some sections falling away. This prompted me to have a look at repointing the brickwork below the DPC (The pointing is OK above the DPC).
The repointing can be pulled away in most places with a tool so as to expose the original mortar. The original mortar looks very damp and very crumbly ( I can almost rake it out with my finger). I chose a head joint as a test section and was able to rake/push a small chisel right through to the cavity. I estimate that all the mortar is in a similar condition to the test section.
My question is, do I just rake out to 25mm and repoint over the crumbling mortar or do I need to look at getting all the mortar replaced. If I do need to just repoint it, do I use a cement:sand mix or a cement:lime:sand mix?