Dear Tim: I have a lovely brick patio that has mortar between the brick. After pressure-washing it this past weekend, I noticed several locations where the mortar has disintegrated. Most of the mortar ...

Q. I need to repair the mortar joints on my older brick home that was built in the late 1800s. I’ve seen some horrible workmanship where the mortar doesn’t match at all, and I want to avoid this. How ...

Q. I am installing flagstone and some paving brick on top of a concrete patio. A book I read suggests mixing sand, cement and hydrated lime in different proportions to make the mortar mix. What is ...

INDIANAPOLIS – Do you know what “repointing” bricks means? By definition, it consists of “removing a portion of the deteriorated mortar and redoing the joints with new mortar.” Doing that basically ...

DEAR TIM: It appears I wasted some money five years ago. I had my brick building repointed with new mortar, and it has deteriorated quickly. Do you have any idea what caused it to happen? The building ...

We've all seen it: The brick or stone wall where the mortar is all powdery, cracked or non-existent. "Mortar can disintegrate over time because of weather as a result of the freeze-thaw cycles. The ...

When the mortar between bricks starts to fail, more significant problems will begin to emerge. Water will have an easier passage into the structure of your home, leading to unwanted damp issues.