Mortar crumbling, any way to stop it?

[W. Wells]

My house is about 60 years old and the mortar on my poarch is turning to sand. Is there any way to stop it I have been pointing what has come out but it starts somewhere else a few months later.

[PipeDown]

A concrete sealer might help especially in the winter when freeze/thaw is the worst or if the decay is caused by exposure to water/humidity. but if it has already decayed to the point of softning, then raking it all out (or use a diamond circular saw) and replacing it is probably the only perminant fix.

[scott21230]

I also think you need to replace the mortar.

[JCF]

Even with soft mortar sealer or consolidant will only penetrate so much. If your mortar is already crumbling and turning to sand, you're better off replacing it than trying to treat it chemically.

[raven]

Don't waste time and money with a sealer. Re-pointing is what's called for and really, the whole chunk of masonry was likely done at the same time, so it's expected that it's all failing at pretty much the same time: once some of it starts to go, you probably should have re-pointed the whole thing. Instead, you're doing the most exposed areas first, then the next most exposed areas and on and on. If you don't mind working like that, that's OK, but in terms of keeping things matched, I'd just bite the bullet and do the whole shebang in one go. Then you'll be good for another 60 years. :)

John