Clean or repoint first

[Roger]

Hi The west facing side of our house gets the worst of the elements and needs re-pointing in some places where the mortar is cracking and also cleaning. The wall is made from concrete blocks faced to make them look like stone. I intend to clean the wall with a pressure washer and then spray it with a protective spray.

My question is should I clean it first and then re-point or will the damaged pointing let too much water in, or if I re-point first will the pressure washer damage the new mortar?

Thanks for any advice

Roger

[BigWallop]

Cleaning first sounds good, but don't go crazy with the pressure washer. Try to use the detergent to remove the dirt, rather than the actual pressure of the jet.

You should also check that the wall is completely, and I mean completely, dry before applying any protective coatings to it. Some external coating products will seal the wall to much, and not allow it to breath. Any moisture that gets in should be able to expire back out again. So check the product you use for this particular feature.

[bigcat]

Unless theres something unusually wrong with your wall, theres no need to coat it. Why do people fall for this 'protective coating' thing?

NT