Pointing / Brick Repairs

[Anonymous]

Hi All,
so can anyone give me some advice? Our house, "probably 18th century" according to the listing (though I've no evidence to support that)... is red brick and lime mortar (for the most part) affair. Unfortunately being an ex-estate house it's been "repaired" quite badly in some places (filled in bricks, cement mortar etc)... so I was looking for someone to help me point and do some repairs, I had a go but I quickly found out that I'm useless at it. I found a company who quoted me approx. 7k to do the whole house and replace the damaged bricks but simply put I don't have £7k laying around... So do we think and is It possible for someone to replace the cement mortar with lime i.e. just repair the bits that need doing or is this simply too small potatoes for people ? Has anyone had repairs like this done and if so how successful were they ?

Any recommendations for tradesmen in the Dorset area (Poole, Wimborne etc), would be gratefully received....
thanks in advance,

Paul.

 

[stuart45]

Use of the hand tools takes a bit of practice, so it might be worth watching a few clips on Utube. Once you get a feel for the tools it gets a lot easier. Getting the mix right makes a big difference.

 

[Kearn]

So do we think and is It possible for someone to replace the cement mortar with lime i.e. just repair the bits that need doing or is this simply too small potatoes for people ? Has anyone had repairs like this done and if so how successful were they ?

those are the only bits that I would repair, if it isn't damaged, leave it be! although, you may well find that original window openings have been messed with, then you start having to consider whether the rectify these and reinstate original aperture dimensions, then windows etc etc...

once you find someone who works in heritage brickwork, they will quickly tell you that their least favourite job is pointing! which may mean you're not only looking for a hen's tooth, but specifically a hen's molar...

that said, depending on the scale and severity of the issue, it isn't the trickiest of jobs to do, with the right tools and patience, but it can take a long time and therefore cost a decent amount for someone skilled. you can be lazy and buy ready mixed for pointing, although colour matching for isolated repairs will be less easy.

what you will need to pay particular attention to is the extent of any damage caused by the cement pointing (and presumably render?), which may not stretch beyond palling. also, if there are lots of bricks that need replacing, rather than just spinning 180, then sourcing a large number of matching reclaimed bricks can be both tricky / costly.

if you're happy up a ladder / platform, then search this forum and you'll find previous discussion on 'how to guides'...

bear in mind though that now the weather has changed, you'll need to wait until Spring regardless of who undertakes the work. But any decent heritage tradesperson, will unlikely be booking less than 12 months out anyway...

 

[plasticpigeon]

I've had a go at pointing. I can't say I'm an expert, but I got better each time I did it. If you want to try again, I can give some tips which could get you on your way.

 

[Anonymous]

I've had a go at pointing. I can't say I'm an expert, but I got better each time I did it. If you want to try again, I can give some tips which could get you on your way.

muchos gratias I've managed to rake out the cement around the windows and thankfully not ALL the window frames disintegrated into dust when I did so... so I'll have a go at that (as the wholes are much bigger!) first

Colour matching is a tricky thing at the best of times most of the lime mortar on the house has the residue of some lime wash (I think) paint (I think the house was completely white once upon a time!) so I could always paint over the mortar to maintain the effect