If you have an old masonry surface such as concrete, brick, or stone that looks really green, black or both I am going to share with you how you can clean them up. There are various methods for each surface type so I am going to discuss them all.
First you have to gather the equipment needed to complete this task. You are going to need a empty 5 gallon pail, stainless steel bug sprayer, access to water with a hose, muriatic acid or some other masonry cleaner, a scrub brush, steel wire brush, protective gear waterproof gear, gloves,jacket, hood, pants, boots and most importantly eye protection, acid does not feel good in your eyes. Lastly you will need a good gas powered pressure washer you can buy one for around $300.00 or just rent one for a day.
Dirty brick and stone walls can be handles a few different ways you can use muriatic acid or a less dangerous cleaner such as sure clean or a pressure washer or both together. If you opt to use a cleaner wet the surface first with a hose. Next apply cleaner with a hard plastic bristle brush or use the bug sprayer to apply it. Be sure to dilute the cleaner with water first to make it safer to use, follow the instructions on the cleaner you are using. Try not to breath in the fumes from the cleaner either, it can make you very dizzy and vomit. In really dirty area you may have to scrub really hard or use a steel wire brush moderately over the affected area. If you are using acid it should bubble up on dirty area right away but it doesn’t work all that well on moss. After you have scrubbed the wall down hose it off or I recommend using a pressure washer with the fan tip to clean it off. A pressure washer itself is capable of cleaning most of the surfaces if done properly, but don’t get too close with the tip you blast a hole in your brick or mortar joints if they are aged.
If you are cleaning concrete it can be done much the same way as what you did the brick and stone wall. However you must be more consistent with your pressure washer. If not you will easily see where you have wash and where you have not sometimes giving your concrete an ugly striped look.
If you have an old sandstone surface such as a porch or steps that are flat there is another method you should use to clean them. For this project you will need a rubbing stone or another piece of sandstone that is about the same hardness. This does require some back breaking work but you will be very happy with the results when you are done. Take your rubbing stone a rub it all over the surface till you get a nice sandy grit all over the surface, in dirtier area you may have to scrub a little harder. Once complete simply sweep the surface or wash it off with a hose. Do not use acid or a pressure washer on sandstone surfaces, they are very easily damaged.
If you are unsure of how to complete this task you should hire a qualified mason or pressure washing contractor to take care of this for you. Working with acid and pressure washers can be dangerous for both you and the people around you. If you are not careful you can easily damage surfaces if you do not clean them properly.
Concrete Pressure Washing
Pressure Washing Services
Sunday, December 5, 2010
How To Build A Brick Wall
Have you ever wanted to build a brick wall on your home or or your yard and don’t know where to begin. In today’s discussion I am going to go over all the supplies you need and how to build a brick wall and complete your project.
Once you have picked out your project you need to figure out how many brick your are going to need. There are two different standard brick types which are used for most jobs, there are many more but the most common are modular brick and Over sized or Jumbo brick. To figure how many you need measure your wall length and height. After You have determined your dimensions if you are using modular take your square foot times seven and this will give you how many brick you need. If you are using Jumbo’s then take your square foot times five and one half. So if your wall is 100 sq ft you would need 700 modular brick and if using Jumbo’s you would need 550 brick. Also figure about a 5% scrap rate also on top of your count for cut bricks that you will need.
After you have your brick figured out you need to get all your tools gathered. You are going to need a masons trowel, tuck pointer, striking iron, masons brush, mason’s hammer, brick chisel, masons line, line blocks, line trigs, line bars, wheel barrow, mortar boards and cement mixer and possible a masons saw if you have alot of cuts to make.
Next get your job area set up with your brick and mortar boards. Place the brick about three feet back from your wall and a mortar board about every four foot apart with the brick in between them. Next Check your bond of your brick, this is a very important step in the brick wall set up. Place one row of brick down on your footer or brick ledge that are evenly spaced with a 3/8 or 1/2 of an inch gap between each brick unit. Try to adjust them so they are all equal and that you end up with a half or a whole brick at each end, this is not always possible but most generally you can adjust your gaping to make the work. Now that you have you bond figure out you need to mark where you bond points are with a pencil. You can either mark the wall you are covering or the footer, just put them somewhere where you can see them.
The next step in the process is to get your mortar mixed and start laying brick. You need to first build your leads, you do this by laying 5 brick out in a row and be sure that they are on bond, level and straight and with about 5/8 of an inch gap between the wall and the brick. Then proceed to the next course, this time start with a half brick at the begining and lay he brick out till you are left with a half of a brick stepped out on the course below, continue this process till you can’t step up any more and then repeat the process at the opposite end of the wall over again.
Once your leads are up it is time to fill the brick in that go in between the leads. Put the line up from lead to lead on the same course, you can use the line blocks with the trigs or use brick line bars to accomplish this step. After the line is in place spread your mortar down the wall and start laying in your brick, be sure to stay on your bond marks or the brick will not fit right. Stay about an 1/8 of an inch off the line when laying in brick and be sure no brick are touching it. Your brick must also be level with the top of the line as well so there are a few things going on that you have to keep an eye on to ensure a good brick installation.
When you have a few courses in you need to strike or rake the wall, it all really depends on how fast your mortar is setting up. If you are striking you will need to keep a close eye on previously layed courses and strike frequently. If you are raking your joints you need to wait until the joints are a bit more set before finishing the joints. Be sure to brush down wall after you finish joints it will make a huge improvement on the cosmetics of it. And if you are striking be sure to strike it one more time after brushing the brick wall down.
Just follow these steps and you will have your wall in place in no time. If you are unsure on how to accomplish any of the above steps you should hire a qualified mason contractor to handle the project for you.
Brick Wall Installation
How to Build a Brick Wall
Once you have picked out your project you need to figure out how many brick your are going to need. There are two different standard brick types which are used for most jobs, there are many more but the most common are modular brick and Over sized or Jumbo brick. To figure how many you need measure your wall length and height. After You have determined your dimensions if you are using modular take your square foot times seven and this will give you how many brick you need. If you are using Jumbo’s then take your square foot times five and one half. So if your wall is 100 sq ft you would need 700 modular brick and if using Jumbo’s you would need 550 brick. Also figure about a 5% scrap rate also on top of your count for cut bricks that you will need.
After you have your brick figured out you need to get all your tools gathered. You are going to need a masons trowel, tuck pointer, striking iron, masons brush, mason’s hammer, brick chisel, masons line, line blocks, line trigs, line bars, wheel barrow, mortar boards and cement mixer and possible a masons saw if you have alot of cuts to make.
Next get your job area set up with your brick and mortar boards. Place the brick about three feet back from your wall and a mortar board about every four foot apart with the brick in between them. Next Check your bond of your brick, this is a very important step in the brick wall set up. Place one row of brick down on your footer or brick ledge that are evenly spaced with a 3/8 or 1/2 of an inch gap between each brick unit. Try to adjust them so they are all equal and that you end up with a half or a whole brick at each end, this is not always possible but most generally you can adjust your gaping to make the work. Now that you have you bond figure out you need to mark where you bond points are with a pencil. You can either mark the wall you are covering or the footer, just put them somewhere where you can see them.
The next step in the process is to get your mortar mixed and start laying brick. You need to first build your leads, you do this by laying 5 brick out in a row and be sure that they are on bond, level and straight and with about 5/8 of an inch gap between the wall and the brick. Then proceed to the next course, this time start with a half brick at the begining and lay he brick out till you are left with a half of a brick stepped out on the course below, continue this process till you can’t step up any more and then repeat the process at the opposite end of the wall over again.
Once your leads are up it is time to fill the brick in that go in between the leads. Put the line up from lead to lead on the same course, you can use the line blocks with the trigs or use brick line bars to accomplish this step. After the line is in place spread your mortar down the wall and start laying in your brick, be sure to stay on your bond marks or the brick will not fit right. Stay about an 1/8 of an inch off the line when laying in brick and be sure no brick are touching it. Your brick must also be level with the top of the line as well so there are a few things going on that you have to keep an eye on to ensure a good brick installation.
When you have a few courses in you need to strike or rake the wall, it all really depends on how fast your mortar is setting up. If you are striking you will need to keep a close eye on previously layed courses and strike frequently. If you are raking your joints you need to wait until the joints are a bit more set before finishing the joints. Be sure to brush down wall after you finish joints it will make a huge improvement on the cosmetics of it. And if you are striking be sure to strike it one more time after brushing the brick wall down.
Just follow these steps and you will have your wall in place in no time. If you are unsure on how to accomplish any of the above steps you should hire a qualified mason contractor to handle the project for you.
Brick Wall Installation
How to Build a Brick Wall
Brick Wall Demolition
If you have an old masonry brick wall that needs to be demolished there are certain steps that should be followed to insure a safe and clean demolition. In this post where I am going to give a general overview of how to demolish a brick wall, this isn’t exactly how it must be done but it does give you a pretty good idea of what needs to be done, just use a little common sense as you attempt to complete this project.
You first need to organize your demolition equipment. You are going to need a scaffolding, dumpster or dump truck, large tarps to cover the grounds work area, small hammer drill, partner saw, wheelbarrow, hammer, chisel, gloves, dust mask respirator and eye protection. It is also a good idea to wear long work jeans and a long sleeve work shirt to help protect yourself.
Try to position your dumpster or dump truck as close to the work area as possible, there is no sense in having to handle all the debris twice if you don’t have to. Spread your tarps out below the work area to help reduce the debris field when it comes time to clean up. Start by making a series long vertical cuts about 2 to 3 foot apart with your partner saw from the top of the wall to the bottom as close as you can get down to. If it is an old masonry wall you may be able to skip this step if the mortar joints are weak.
Next you will want to get out your hammer drill. Be sure it is set to vibrate only and use a small wedge tip on the end of it. In this case the small bits generally work better that large ones when taking apart masonry structures. Go to very to course of the wall to begin, never start at the bottom. With you bit attack the bottom of the brick rite where the bottom of the brick meets the mortar, pull the trigger and after a few seconds the brick should pop loose, grab the brick and throw it in the dumpster and continue along one course at a time .
You should avoid trying to take multiple courses at once unless you are skilled in demolition work. Improper demolition can result in a collapse of the entire masonry structure which would not be good especially if you are standing under it, odds are you will suffer serious injury or death. If you notice the wall starting to buckle while you are demolishing it you may need to stop and shore up the wall with bracing until that section of wall is down. As you tear down the wall you should come across wall ties every few feet that may require a claw hammer or a metal cutting blade to remove them.
Finally clean up your work area, there will be alot of debris so hopefully you put your tarps down well so cleanup will be much easier. If you are planning to replace your brick wall with another masonry structure be sure that the footer is totally cleaned off and all mortar is chiseled off as well, it will make installing your new brick wall much simpler.
If you don’t feel that you can tackle this project you should hire a qualified mason contractor or a demolition specialist.
Brick Wall Demolition
You first need to organize your demolition equipment. You are going to need a scaffolding, dumpster or dump truck, large tarps to cover the grounds work area, small hammer drill, partner saw, wheelbarrow, hammer, chisel, gloves, dust mask respirator and eye protection. It is also a good idea to wear long work jeans and a long sleeve work shirt to help protect yourself.
Try to position your dumpster or dump truck as close to the work area as possible, there is no sense in having to handle all the debris twice if you don’t have to. Spread your tarps out below the work area to help reduce the debris field when it comes time to clean up. Start by making a series long vertical cuts about 2 to 3 foot apart with your partner saw from the top of the wall to the bottom as close as you can get down to. If it is an old masonry wall you may be able to skip this step if the mortar joints are weak.
Next you will want to get out your hammer drill. Be sure it is set to vibrate only and use a small wedge tip on the end of it. In this case the small bits generally work better that large ones when taking apart masonry structures. Go to very to course of the wall to begin, never start at the bottom. With you bit attack the bottom of the brick rite where the bottom of the brick meets the mortar, pull the trigger and after a few seconds the brick should pop loose, grab the brick and throw it in the dumpster and continue along one course at a time .
You should avoid trying to take multiple courses at once unless you are skilled in demolition work. Improper demolition can result in a collapse of the entire masonry structure which would not be good especially if you are standing under it, odds are you will suffer serious injury or death. If you notice the wall starting to buckle while you are demolishing it you may need to stop and shore up the wall with bracing until that section of wall is down. As you tear down the wall you should come across wall ties every few feet that may require a claw hammer or a metal cutting blade to remove them.
Finally clean up your work area, there will be alot of debris so hopefully you put your tarps down well so cleanup will be much easier. If you are planning to replace your brick wall with another masonry structure be sure that the footer is totally cleaned off and all mortar is chiseled off as well, it will make installing your new brick wall much simpler.
If you don’t feel that you can tackle this project you should hire a qualified mason contractor or a demolition specialist.
Brick Wall Demolition
Installing Cultured Stone
In today’s discussion I am going to explain how to install a cultured stone wall. There are many steps in this process but it is a job that just about anyone can do if they can pay attention to detail and proper spacing.
The first thing you need to do is to get your scratch coat onto your structures wall. You first need to cover the entire surface with tar paper either the 15 or 30 weight. You can also use Tyvek, but I feel that the tar paper will give you the best moisture protection. After all your moisture barrier is up you then must install the steel galvanized mesh over the entire surface, this is very important step and must be done correctly, it is what holds all the weight of the stone. You need to place one fastener every 16 inches apart and be sure to hit the studs behind the walls. And then space them about 12 inches apart vertically. You can use a 2 inch roofing nail or industrial size staples that are at least 1 1/2 inches long. After you have all your fasteners in place you then must apply your scratch coat of mortar over the entire surface, this is what the stone will stick to. After you have completed this step it is usually best to let it dry over night before applying stone.
Now it is time to start applying the stones to the wall. Take your stone and apply mortar to all edges till it sortar forms a suction cup, you shouldn’t have to apply any mortar to the center of the stone unless it is really big. After you have the stone prepped push it firmly onto the wall with a slight wiggle motion to set it in place. continue to do this until all stones are in place, try to space stone about 3/8 of an inch apart and try to break up the vertical bond as much as possible, this will make the job look much more natural.
The next step in the process is to grout the empty joints full with mortar. you will need a grout bag, masons brush and a 3/4 inch tuckpointer for this stage of the job. Pump the mortar into the joints evenly and try to bring them out to the face of the stone. The next step is critical in job beauty. Now you must wait until the mortar is firm and partially set up if you attempt this step to soon you will smear up your stone and give the joints an appearance of being torn, which doesn’t look good at all. Once the joints are set firmly rake the joints with the tip of your tuck pointer, the mortar should fall out like a sandy grit, if it is not and still to wet wait a bit longer, alot of this phase has alot to do with temperature of the outside surroundings. after you have completed this step follow up by firmly brushing all the joints out, this step alone will make a huge improvement on job quality if done correctly. After you are done do a thorough inspection and fill any open hole in the mortar joints.
Then thats pretty much it, just waith till it all dry’s. You will notice the the joints will lighten consideralbly once dry so you may want to add a colorant to the grout when mixing to get the desired color.
The first thing you need to do is to get your scratch coat onto your structures wall. You first need to cover the entire surface with tar paper either the 15 or 30 weight. You can also use Tyvek, but I feel that the tar paper will give you the best moisture protection. After all your moisture barrier is up you then must install the steel galvanized mesh over the entire surface, this is very important step and must be done correctly, it is what holds all the weight of the stone. You need to place one fastener every 16 inches apart and be sure to hit the studs behind the walls. And then space them about 12 inches apart vertically. You can use a 2 inch roofing nail or industrial size staples that are at least 1 1/2 inches long. After you have all your fasteners in place you then must apply your scratch coat of mortar over the entire surface, this is what the stone will stick to. After you have completed this step it is usually best to let it dry over night before applying stone.
Now it is time to start applying the stones to the wall. Take your stone and apply mortar to all edges till it sortar forms a suction cup, you shouldn’t have to apply any mortar to the center of the stone unless it is really big. After you have the stone prepped push it firmly onto the wall with a slight wiggle motion to set it in place. continue to do this until all stones are in place, try to space stone about 3/8 of an inch apart and try to break up the vertical bond as much as possible, this will make the job look much more natural.
The next step in the process is to grout the empty joints full with mortar. you will need a grout bag, masons brush and a 3/4 inch tuckpointer for this stage of the job. Pump the mortar into the joints evenly and try to bring them out to the face of the stone. The next step is critical in job beauty. Now you must wait until the mortar is firm and partially set up if you attempt this step to soon you will smear up your stone and give the joints an appearance of being torn, which doesn’t look good at all. Once the joints are set firmly rake the joints with the tip of your tuck pointer, the mortar should fall out like a sandy grit, if it is not and still to wet wait a bit longer, alot of this phase has alot to do with temperature of the outside surroundings. after you have completed this step follow up by firmly brushing all the joints out, this step alone will make a huge improvement on job quality if done correctly. After you are done do a thorough inspection and fill any open hole in the mortar joints.
Then thats pretty much it, just waith till it all dry’s. You will notice the the joints will lighten consideralbly once dry so you may want to add a colorant to the grout when mixing to get the desired color.
Masonry Restoration
New masonry buildings rarely are built the way they used to be and we should preserve and maintain our older masonry structures, because like the saying goes ”they don’t build them like they used too” is very true in the masonry business. Very rarely do you see large all real stone buildings being built anymore just because of the high cost of real stone and the amount of labor involved in laying very large stones. If you have an old masonry structure that’s need to be restored there are many steps you must take to repair and restore it. Old Masonry Structures made of real stone and antique brick are very rarely built anymore and to preserve what is left it must be maintained.
The first thing you should do is thoroughly clean the surface with a soft acid wash and a pressure washer. You must be careful not to add to much acid to your solution to ensure you do not damage the brick or stone. You should then scrub with a firm bristle scrub brush to remove all the loose dirt. If you are skilled with a pressure washer this would also work, you just must be real careful not to damage the surface with the high pressure water stream.
The next thing that you may need to do is a good tuckpointing job on the entire surface. You really should do the whole wall or structure because if you just grind out the bad areas you will notice a difference in the color of the patched areas. Doing the whole surface will ensure a quality job that matches entirely and odds are anyways you will have to eventually tuckpoint the other areas as well further down the road anyways.
While you are tuckpointing you should also remove any replace any broken or missing masonry units as well. you should really do the replacement work as you go so your mortar color stays consistent with the surrounding mortar joints. Bad masonry units are one that are cracked, spalling or just plain falling apart. Special care must also be taken at the caps of masonry walls if they are capped with concrete or stone, this is the first line of defense from water damage and deterioration. If the cap has been compromised your wall can quickly be destroyed from the elements of rain, snow and ice.
On really bad crumbling walls they may need to be reinforced with wall anchors that are drilled in with a metal anchor bolt set in a special epoxy to hold it in place.. Other techniques such as wall reinforce with galvanized mesh must also be implemented for crumbling stucco walls. Other things that may need replacement are steel lentils over windows and doors. These can be especially dangerous if not properly reinforced and braced up during replacement.
Restoring our old masonry structures is very important in preserving our historic buildings and should only be attempted by skilled tradesmen that have been in the masonry field for a very long time. If you have a building you would like to restore do not wait long to restore it, the longer you wait the more damage it will absorb and it will cost you more later than sooner so don’t wait, get it fixed now and not later.
Masonry Restoration
Chimney Repair
The first thing you should do is thoroughly clean the surface with a soft acid wash and a pressure washer. You must be careful not to add to much acid to your solution to ensure you do not damage the brick or stone. You should then scrub with a firm bristle scrub brush to remove all the loose dirt. If you are skilled with a pressure washer this would also work, you just must be real careful not to damage the surface with the high pressure water stream.
The next thing that you may need to do is a good tuckpointing job on the entire surface. You really should do the whole wall or structure because if you just grind out the bad areas you will notice a difference in the color of the patched areas. Doing the whole surface will ensure a quality job that matches entirely and odds are anyways you will have to eventually tuckpoint the other areas as well further down the road anyways.
While you are tuckpointing you should also remove any replace any broken or missing masonry units as well. you should really do the replacement work as you go so your mortar color stays consistent with the surrounding mortar joints. Bad masonry units are one that are cracked, spalling or just plain falling apart. Special care must also be taken at the caps of masonry walls if they are capped with concrete or stone, this is the first line of defense from water damage and deterioration. If the cap has been compromised your wall can quickly be destroyed from the elements of rain, snow and ice.
On really bad crumbling walls they may need to be reinforced with wall anchors that are drilled in with a metal anchor bolt set in a special epoxy to hold it in place.. Other techniques such as wall reinforce with galvanized mesh must also be implemented for crumbling stucco walls. Other things that may need replacement are steel lentils over windows and doors. These can be especially dangerous if not properly reinforced and braced up during replacement.
Restoring our old masonry structures is very important in preserving our historic buildings and should only be attempted by skilled tradesmen that have been in the masonry field for a very long time. If you have a building you would like to restore do not wait long to restore it, the longer you wait the more damage it will absorb and it will cost you more later than sooner so don’t wait, get it fixed now and not later.
Masonry Restoration
Chimney Repair
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