Pointing advice needed

gregers · 10 Aug 2008

chessspy said:
Greggers,
you are talking b*****s, stoppit now.
There are a number of different finishes to repointed brick work, the finish will depend on the existing.
what is important is to establish if in fact the brickwork needs repointing at all.
If it does, the main problem is to get someone to dig out the existing perished joints to 20mm.(as a minimum)
and then to make a tidy job of repointing the wall.
Trust me, I'm a bricky.

as i havent see the wall in question i for 1 dont know what type of pointing is required and nor do you,the OP has said it needs repointing.
and yes im pretty certain he understands that the old pointing needs to be removed, and i will continue to use the term BUCKET HANDLE just to wind you lot up

iirc to strike a weathered joint you use a dutchman?or is it a frenchman?
if the op thinks its too much for him to tackle,thats why i said get a brickie in,if he thinks he can take the job on himself then fairplay to him thats why hes here on a diy forum trying to get as much info as possible.
lets face it taking your time anyone can make a good job out of pointing and laying bricks but carpentry is an art.

chessspy · 10 Aug 2008

Ok greggers, I retract.
That sounds a lot like reality to me

xerxes · 11 Aug 2008

Thanks for the good advice so far, and for the entertainment as well.

Chessspy, by 'plinth' I mean that the base of the house walls is built in facing bricks; above this is a bell cast, then rendering above. I'll try to post a picture tomorrow.

For what it's worth, I'm quite happy with the term 'bucket handle'; I'm sure that those who object to it are also entitled to their point of view. What type of joint would anyone recommend for a beginner?

chessspy · 11 Aug 2008

bucket handle.

xerxes · 12 Aug 2008

Here are the promised pictures (assuming the upload works).

In the second, you can see where the rendering has already fallen off. On the right are some staddle stones which I have to move out of the way before the work can begin.

//media.diynot.com/28000_27490_3761_30626878_thumb.jpg

//media.diynot.com/28000_27490_3762_52818326_thumb.jpg

chessspy · 12 Aug 2008

Ok, xerxes,
so you are going to re point up to the dentil course and have it rendered above.
There doesn't seem much difficulty about that. although the pictures are very small, the brickwork below the plinth should be ok after you've repointed.
I still think a pointing trowel and a plasterers hawk to push the mortar in is the best method, but you will use whichever way you think best, as long as the loose material is cleaned out, and don't forget to wet the wall about 20 min before you start otherwise the mortar joints will go white.
Do about a metre2 at a time, perps first, (use big trowel to feed small for this) then fill the bed joints, and point up with the bucket handle for a good finish.(the mix needs to be reasonably semi dry)
Brush off with a soft yard brush head for a neat finish.

xerxes · 12 Aug 2008

Thanks very much. I take it that semi-dry is important to avoid messing the face of the bricks (which I've done when I've tried doing some pointing before).

I'm not sure what you mean by '...use big trowel to feed small for this...'. Can you explain?

chessspy · 12 Aug 2008

Hi, xerxes,
Yes, when starting to point an area, first take a portion of the prepared mortar on a bricklaying trowel of normal size, 10" - 12" blade
Then using the smaller pointing trowel take a portion onto it and force it into the perpendicular joint.
All this assumes you have previously raked out the loose old mortar and wet the wall etc.
When you have filled all the 'perps', you will see that the filling extends across the bed joints, so now take a thinnish stick suitable to go into the bed joint about 10mm and rake it along the bed joint, this will indent any perp mortar and allow you to fill the bed joint without hinderance.
Do this and then finnish all with the bucket handle , half round jointing tool.
You should be able to do about 10mm2 per day.
If you are smearing the bricks the mortar is too wet.

Shytalkz · 12 Aug 2008

chessspy said:
You should be able to do about 10mm2 per day

Best prepare for the long haul, then

chessspy · 12 Aug 2008

thanks Bro.
Should read, 10m2
A pro would do 35m2
I can do 15m2

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Pointing advice needed

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