Painting a brick step?

[need more tools]

yeah that look is cool.

 

[jmh21586]

Ive seen guys wash brick and when they are done it looks like a rake joint

Rake joints arent very popular around here because of the freeze thaw cycles.

 

[need more tools]

what do you guys tuck point with? hand, drill with hopper, grout bag?

 

[jmh21586]

Only with these. No other way. I know it's done differently in other places but IMO this way is by far quicker and neater since you're using stiffer mud opposed to loose mud in the bags.

 

[need more tools]

I hear you I dont do alot of grinding and tucking to be honest I hate the dust I pretty much just lay Ive done my fair share of it in the past and did alot by hand.now when I have to do it I use a bag then let it set a littlethen tuck it then tool it I feel the looser you put it in the better it bonds to the old and doesnt set up as fast because most of what I do tuck has to be tooled

 

[need more tools]

I always like to see how and what other guys are doing.I was tought to lay by an old timer.And now the way things are today 90% of the masons that were around here two or three years ago are gone.or begging for work.Ive been real lucky and have been able to stay busy. what is it like in your neck of the woods?

 

[jmh21586]

We've been real busy the last few years. This year looks real good.


There may not always be money for new buildings, but old ones always need to be maintained. We're a little more recession proof.


As far as the mud goes most architects dictate the consistency of the mortar we use. The less water you use when you mix it, the harder it will get when cured.

 

[need more tools]

yeah new building is way down here been doing some outdoor fire places add ons and mostly work for home owners. and insurance jobs. got any cool pictures? here are a few I have they are from a few years back this is mostly what I do

 

[need more tools]

one more

 

[need more tools]

Oh yeah by the way nice job on the garage it sweet

 

[jmh21586]

Your work looks awesome!

I don't have many pics but here are a few form our companys website.



top left:
This is the midtown exchange building we did in 2005. I wasn't on that job. We didn't do it 100% but were still there over a year.





top right:
This is the Foshay tower in Minneapolis. We did some stone patching on it along with some caulking. Wasn't on this one either. I was down the street at the time on another building.






middle right:
Myself, my brother and two others did the comparatively small job about 4 years ago. Complete cut and pointing of the stone.




bottom left:
This ine was a fun one. About 10 guys did this over a summer. Turned out beautifull. The company ended up winning a few awards for this one. If you look closely you can see me on a boom lift in the pic. We use them a lot.


bottom right:
This was a monster of a job. Two full seasons to complete. It's the Northrop Auditorium on the U of M campus in Minneapolis. This is the main entrance. The sides of the building are about 4 times this size. Much bigger than the pic lets on.

I may be in this pic on the swing stage. We had to wash the stone on the building with Sure Klean 766. Should be named 666 because it's pure evil in a bucket. Makes acid look like bath water. We had to dress in rubber suits, ducktape the sleeves, wear respirators and rubber boots, all in the middle of summer. The 766 had to be put on with an airless sprayer. Contact with skin was awefull. It would eat right through to the meat in about 5 seconds. I had scabs all over.

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Pic of a guy pointing.

Me and another guy cutting.

Here's me freezing my *** off power washing the Union depot in St. Paul.

Did this in 2009. Another monster. Stones were ready to fall off. 6'x6' stones. 1800 pounds a piece I belive. So we had to tear all of them off and put new irons on the building and then put all the stone back on. A LOT OF WORK. Lots of scaffolding. (middle pic)

 

[jmh21586]

ok, those pics didn't turn out right but you get the idea.

 

[jmh21586]

that outdoor chiminey is awesome. Love to have something like that.

 

[need more tools]

wow those buildings have some gret details to them that is what I love doing arches and quoins and limestone details wow you guys are big time.

 

[djjsr]

The pro tuckpointers make brick repair look easy. So, being a do-it-yourselfer, I thought I'd give it a shot. I wasn't very successful, just couldn't get the hang of it. I could finish it ok but had trouble getting the mortar into the joint. I was getting pretty frustrated, then I found this gun. It's like an oversized caulking gun and it works great for getting mortar where you want it. I'm still not very fast at it but I don't really care. I'm getting the job done (when the weather is good).

It can be used for sanded grout or mortar and it was less than $50. A pro would probably laugh at it but it works.

 

[jmh21586]

the smaller jobs are the fun ones. the big ones are monotonous.

 

[jmh21586]

The pro tuckpointers make brick repair look easy. So, being a do-it-yourselfer, I thought I'd give it a shot. I wasn't very successful, just couldn't get the hang of it. I could finish it ok but had trouble getting the mortar into the joint. I was getting pretty frustrated, then I found this gun. It's like an oversized caulking gun and it works great for getting mortar where you want it. I'm still not very fast at it but I don't really care. I'm getting the job done (when the weather is good).

It can be used for sanded grout or mortar and it was less than $50.

Never tried those. It just wouldn't work well for us because it takes too long to reload. But I did try using my bulk caulking gun on my fireplace when we built it. TRIED. thought I would save time. I didn't work. Used the bag and got it done.
When you do it the way I do it you use mortar with the wetness of sand you use for sand castles. Wet enough to ball up , but dry enough not to be sloppy. It takes a new guy a few hours to get the hang of it.

 

[need more tools]

we did a restoration on a carriage house from the eighteen hundreds I could not wait to get done with that grinding, man hats off to you and your crew you guy are real men.

 

[jmh21586]

I like grinding. Zone out, turn into a zombie, and the next thing you know, the days over.

Except when it's 90+ degrees.

 

[need more tools]

can u use a mp3 or do the frown on that

 

[jmh21586]

Can but we use 8" air powered saws. Pretty loud.

We do listen to radios when we point though as long as they don't get turned up to loud..
Makes the day go by.
You probably get to right?

 

[need more tools]

yes the radio is one of the first tools of the truck.

 

[MGoers]

Take a look at this picture of moisture I'm getting. Will it be an issue, and is there anything I can do about it? Strange thing is we haven't really gotten any rain recently... I'm planning on doing tile most likely, and painting the brick if I can't get it clean. I scraped it with a multitool today with some success, and I will be doing the acid soon also.

Also, here is a quick one I took to get an idea of what we're dealing with. Cleaning all the **** out a bit at a time.

 

[jmh21586]

I don't know man. That brick looks pretty cool to me. Not everyone has something like that.

As for the moisture, I think that is pretty normal. There is a certain amount of wicking with brick.

I wouldn't worry too much about it. Others opinions may vary. Certainly ask for them.

 

[MGoers]

I just worry about it looking weird running the brick into the cabinet. I want the cabinet to blend in as much as possible. I would like to not have it, but its hiding a fugly heat pump and water heater.

 

[djjsr]

Does the moisture appear only when it rains? If so, maybe you need to divert the water on the outside of that wall. Tile will not stick where the concrete is damp.

 

[MGoers]

This what it looks like on the other side. The gutter lets out at the corner and I recently had concrete edging installed. Water does pool up with a heavy rain...

 

[need more tools]

Yeah you have created a pond there. I would hook a extension to that down spout and drill some weep holes in that curb.water intrusion into the interior is never a good thing

 

[djjsr]

Maybe put a couple of elbows and a little straight section on the bottom of the downspout to get the water over to the driveway?

 

[MGoers]

Round one of muriatic acid on the bad parts complete, I'm going to try and scrape the rest of that stuff off and go at it again. It doesn't seem to getting as clean as I would have thought. Pretty sure it was concrete that was splashed on.

 

[need more tools]

good luck hope it comes out for you.If it is concreete you may not be happy with the results. Its realy hard to get off.If it was mortar you would be seeing a big difference after the first round.