Household Repairs Broken. If brick is in a masonry wall, floor, walk, or steps, crack it out with a hammer and cold chisel. Chip off mortar on surrounding bricks. Soak new replacement brick in water for a half hour and thoroughly wet bricks surrounding cavity. Then set in new brick with mortar as below.

Mortar joints around brick cracked or eroded. Chip out loose and weak mortar. Blow out dust with vacuum cleaner. Wet cracks with water. Mix 1 part cement, 1 part hydrated lime and 6 parts sand with just enough water to hold mixture together. Pack this into joint and smooth to match nearby joints.

For very small cracks, simply brush in a soupy grout made of 3 parts cement, 1 part lime, and 4 parts fine sand.

Efflorescence on brick. Check wall or floor for leaks and stop these. To get rid of efflorescence, scrub with a wire brush. If this is ineffective, mix 1 part hydrochloric acid with 10 parts water and scrub on stains with a fiber brush. Wear gloves. Avoid getting too much of the solution into mortar joints. Rinse thoroughly with clear water.

Mortar stains. Scrape off mortar chunks with a chisel or putty knife. Soak brick with water. Then treat as for efflorescence.




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December 4, 2008