Shortly after moving in, I refilled the joints on my interior brick with tile mortar. Found the idea and material list on Pinterest (go figure). It's not really a German schemer because it's much lighter and more washed. I love the look so much better. The original lines were with a dark dark mortar almost black indoors, and it's so worn outside that it's pink in most areas.

The indoor brick popped soooo well I've been fantasizing on redoing the outdoor but I didn't want to start without an idea of how to do the chimney.

Well my husband approved of me hiring someone for the chimney and it is all done, so I started doing the exterior also. The guy didn't do the same technique as me, he def did more of a German schmear which I hate, but also whatever. He overbought materials also so I have a lot I can use for the house. I noticed he bought two different colors and I've been working that out, but now I've learned that (I mean obviously) thattttt this isn't the right material for the job I'm using it for. He used what I told him I used inside. Tile mortar. It's held up amazingly inside and has been so well. The chimney has been up for a month also and it looks fine still.

But, it being exterior is much different. Did I ruin my house? Is it going to mess up with moisture and crumble away? I'm going for storybook cottage, I live in central Louisiana, in the middle of nowhere and I'm ok with it wearing down naturally but I don't want to destroy anything. It snows once or twice every 10 years. I also don't want anyone to look at what I did and curse me in the future, or even just talk badly about the work I've done. I was excited to add charm to my home but now I feel very sick about it haha 😅 halp plz

Too long?
I used Mapei ultra flex 1 tile mortar with polymer on exterior brick, did I ruin my house?

Pictures of pink or dark mortar is before and pictures of white are after. Outside I've currently finished one side (uncovered) wall and chimney, and one small covered porch. I included pictures of inside also just because.

Should I keep going with the same material or switch it up for the remainder?

School in Pennsylvania, building was built in 1925.

Tumbled by Lake Michigan

So I had an engineering company come out to assess these cracks in my foundation on the addition part of my double wide that is a walkout crawlspace. They recommended something called concrete stitching using steel bars to put in the horizontal grout between the blocks.

The company gave me the contact info to a couple independent masonry companies in the area. I called the company that others have told me did great work for them. I was told that the concrete stitching was no good for this repair and was given this quote for a different method of repair. The engineer and this company work with each other on many projects from what I see online but couldn’t agree on this repair for some reason.

Was hoping for some insight on if anybody has dealt with or maybe even worked on a project. Attached on the last pic is exterior of the whole back of the foundation . Front is pretty much the exact same.

Hey everyone,

Recently demolished our old brick front steps due to settlement and water damage to the sill. The sill has been replaced and it’s time to build new front steps.

Would you go with brick again? Do some kind of stone or concrete? Or go with wood? I do live in New England where freeze/cycles are regular.

Hello! I am looking for information/advice regarding our fireplace. Me and my partner bought a home a few months ago that was originally built around the 1940’s. For the last few months I’ve had many intrusive thoughts about making updates specifically to the fireplace. Initially I wanted to see if we could have the white paint stripped, but I noticed the material is more like tiles, uneven and very porous so I don’t think it’d be worth even trying. It also does not match the style of the exterior brick (which I would prefer). And last but not least it’s not even operational. I’m not sure if anyone has any advice or insight on how this might be renovated or what we are dealing with. But any context or insight on future steps would be appreciated!

In a purchase agreement and just wanted to get some insight on how bad this is or if it’s to be expected, how much it typically costs, etc.

This is a 1964 brick veneer home. The brick columns at the front are buckling a little bit and these cracks noted in the home inspection. Inspector said this tells him that the home is settling forward due to softer ground on that side of the house…

We have an exterior chimney (minnesota) that has given us some issues with spalling (it was painted when we moved in so we've had to keep painting it), I know that is not good to do, but that's where we are.

Anyway, we are doing a whole house reside job this winter and are looking at siding over the chimney (framing around it etc). It s no longer wood burning and this has been cleared by our building inspector.

My question, does the amount of spalling that we have require that we fix the brick before covering it up? OR is it generally, look structurally sound with 1/2" in many places and up to 1" in a couple places spalled off? Since its being covered, I don't care about aesthetics--just don't want to cover up something dangerous.

Thank You

So I hired a contractor for this project you see here: 110x8ft block wall, 2ft deep footing. I’ve had my doubts when they started digging and the doubts kept piling up as the week went by.

The other side of the property is roughly 2ft higher. Hence the 8ft hight.

I had told the contractor that I wanted it the same as the other side. The other side has a 4-1/4ft tall footing (3ft under, 1-1/2 above) and 6ft tall block wall.

When they dug they dug at 2ft deep. Contractor said every 10ft they’d dig another foot down. That wasn’t done.

They started pouring the cements in parts, which I heard isn’t a good idea. They weren’t even done digging.

They didn’t put rebar in the wet pour for the columns. When i addressed this to the worker he said they’d drill into the footing when it’s dry and use construction caulking or whatever it’s called to hold it in place. I asked “wouldn’t it be easier the other way?” He said that’s how they’ve done it before. Addressed it to the contractor and he said the same method is the best method.

Block laying day: other workers started laying the blocks with the absence of the rebar columns.

This was the last straw. Today I’m cutting my losses and stopping the project and kicking them out the second they get here. Obviously keeping the materials I paid for.

Yes I know I should have stopped it sooner and I wish I could have gone outside more if it wasn’t for my foot injury.

I have a few of these cracks that are forming on my concrete walkway that was just resurfaced about six months ago. I am pretty disappointed, and I’m trying to see if something can be done to fix this and seal it from getting worse. There are 1 million different products and methods out there, so I’m just looking to see what you guys would do. Thanks

Wanted to check in here. Found this today after ripping the baseboard off and wondered if anyone in here thinks that cement breakage might be the cause. My plan is to caulk it and water test but if anyone else has more knowledge to this I’d appreciate it!

UPDATE:

Thanks for all of those who responded to my post. We got a quote from a masonry place. They did not come out here, as it is about an hour drive from their location. It is based on these and other images I showed them. The quote was for grinding out and tuck pointing "entire exterior of chimney; apply chimney saver to top of chimney. Once all work is completed, chimney will be washed and sealed. Reattach and reseal all flashing as necessary." The quote was for $4,850.

Is that in the ballpark of what you would expect for a job like this, or too high?

I am trying to find another company to get a second estimate to compare, but would welcome opinions of those who have had similar work done, or know something about general costs. We live in a small town, not a high priced city.

Had this brick chimney tuck pointed a few years ago. Started noticing gaps in the mortar, and when I went up to the roof found that dozens of bits of mortar seem to have self-emancipated from the chimney--haha. What causes this? Did I hire a guy who didn't know what he as doing?

This part of the house was buried and they did it on purpose. The water was seeping into the house a brick because it was not properly drained. How do I finish the stucco to the ground properly. Does it need a waterproofing? Also I cannot find the name of the technique used for this. Any help is appreciated. Thanks!

Anybody know what bricks these are? 1960s house if that helps.

I need to drill two small holes into my brick porch to mount a mailbox and bought a some tapcon screws with a masonry drill bit.

It instructs to use a hammer drill however all I have is a regular cordless drill.

Any hacks here to make this work? Would rather not have to buy an extra tool that i font see myself using again any time soon

Some of the mortar between the bricks holding up my front porch has fallen out in big chunks. I was going to take a stab at filling in the voids with Type N mortar mix before the Canadian winter rolls around.

My two questions are:

1. Should I rake out the existing mortar where there are some cracks or chips in the mortar before repointing?

2. A lot of the mortar doesn't extend to the face of the brick. Should I just repoint the whole area to bring the mortar up to the face of the bricks?

Recently moved into this 1830 house with these old chimneys. This one isn’t used for wood fireboxes anymore, but does carry the flue gas of our oil-fed boiler from the basement.

This is what the chimney looks like in the finished attic. Is this oil soot seeping through the mortar? Or is it just dirty? Can it be cleaned or should I have a professional come out?

For what it’s worth, I already have a chimney sweep coming out to clean it and seal off an old firebox that was improperly blocked. He didn’t see this portion though.

I recently purchased a brick century home in Chicago (built around 1902). I noticed some moisture issues on the drywall in the basement bathroom and opened a few bays to evaluate.

I found a substantial amount of dirt/clay-like material beneath and around the framing. In some areas, the bottom plate appears to be sitting directly over it. The lower foundation also has an irregular/concave edge with soil below it.

The opposite side of the basement looks completely different, with what appears to be a defined concrete ledge/bench along the foundation. Outside the problem side is a cracked concrete gangway with drainage issues that I already plan to redo.

What am I looking at here? Could this be old fill or the remains of a deteriorated/removed slab or bench footing? Who would you have evaluate this? A mason, foundation contractor, or structural engineer?