Masonry repair

The first thing anyone should do after spotting settling cracks in their brick walls is to repoint them. Getting cracked up bricks repointed is very crucial to the life of the brick. This process is usually called as tuck pointing. The usual take on repointing cracks is that anyone can work and perform it. But it is not true. There are a lot of mistakes, that occur on due course while repointing cracks and masonry repair.

The common mistakes occurring during masonry repair

1. The initial and first mistake that is carried out during masonry repair is that, the repairs are made even before analyzing the additional problems. This easily causes more damage to the walls. It will lead to much bigger problems.

2. The second important mistake made is that calling out for a foundation repair company to level your foundation.  Foundations built perfectly according to your foundation level are very rare to find. Any defects in the foundation may increase the number of cracks in your wall.

3. The most careless mistake of all is to make use of tubes of mortar repair and deal with the cracks yourself. Control joints, caulking all are not advised to be used as mortar joints and may cause additional damages.

4. Matching the mortar is the fourth mistake. Analyzing the mortar samples to their composition is called matching the mortar.

5. Never repair the masonry according to the mortar color. This causes a problem because color is directly a result of the composition of the mortar.

6. The depth of the repairs is a key factor in masonry repair. The old mortar when removed, must be removed to such a depth that, there should be a good bond between the new and the old mortar.

7. Never leave behind dust or debris remaining on the crack. This prevents the proper bond of the new and old mortar which might increase the level of cracks.

8. The other commonly occurring mistake caused is the mixing of the mortar. Adding sad or cement to mortars is risky and dangerous.

9. Never imply pressure on top of a mortar, this might because direct cracking and breaking of the mortar.

10. The last and major mistake is the tooling and brushing the mortar joints. The existing tooling method should match the new one.

The process of repairing masonry might seem simple, but even a slight variation in the process might cause a lot of problems.