Re-pointing is an essential brickwork job to weather the elements. Repointing Melbourne is the priority during house renovation. Damaged or missing mortar is the source of leak and damp in homes. It calls for wider renovation.
Re-pointing involves repacking carefully the mortar between individual bricks or stone blocks, making up your home exterior skin. There are many renovators performing DIY re-pointing and it is one of the most outsourced jobs to professionals.
Guide to Re-pointing Melbourne
Re-pointing Melbourne is a renewing process of the outer mortar joint portion connecting the bricks. It is time to think about re-pointing on seeing open joints easily enveloping the mortar bed.
Mortar is the key and individual masonry units separate the substance. It safeguards building from ingress of water and is useful to fill irregularities on the blocks or bricks bedding faces.
Mortar is made of variety of materials. It is softer to stone and bricks and starts deteriorating. In case the mortar mix is harder in comparison to the bricks, the weather brunt causes the brick to erode. Thus, replacing brickwork is expensive than re-pointing of brickwork.
Step-by-Step Guide to Re-pointing
- Clear the Wall requiring Re-pointing
Re-pointing Melbourne is high priority on the wall. There is mixture of materials, and the ranges include semi-recessed to plastered-on-top. Plants growing against the walls must be pinned back before starting work. It is a messy job of laying plastic sheets over new paving, flower beds, and grass areas.
- Remove Old Mortar
Using a chisel and hammer, the old pointing is eliminated. It is done ensuring the chisel chips out only loose material. Power cables run, so taking utmost care of the pointing is a must. Gently, rake out the loose mortar. However, working carefully is a must.
- Exposing Brick Edges
The brick edges are kept open all around and there is a gap created to hold fresh mortar. Plenty of dust is between the stone gaps to be brushed out gently and to begin re-pointing Melbourne. To keep mortar color consistent, the mix must be measured out carefully. It should have three buckets of sand, white cement one quarter, and lime one bucket.
- Work from Top
Re-pointing is done from the wall top. The mortar is firmly pushed from right to left. The vertical joins receive two or three re-pointing courses. The mortar overlaps the joints. The mortar is left to dry and the drying process relies on the weather.
- Remove Excess Mortar
Use a wire brush to take off excess mortar. Check the finished work as close-up. After the re-pointing Melbourne, the wall looks great and will withstand weathering for years to come.
