Can somebody tell me what the knack for doing this is. I am getting my living room replastered and a few bricks have become dislodged. What is the knack of getting the brick and mortar in the joint. I usually resort to poking it in with my fingers but I am sure that cannot be correct.
Ta
Kevin
With a small trowel. ;-)
Just put some Sand&Cement on the bottom and one side of the brick,throw some in on the inner wall,push the brick in and pack any gaps with S&C with a trowel.
when replacing 80+ spalled bricks I used a 6" long bit of window beading (which was the same width as the mortar joint) to push mortar right to the back of the joint.
using a small trowel gave a cosmetically acceptable joint but structurally, obviously, it's wholly insufficient.
I the bricks are underneath plaster then you don't need to be so picky about how it looks, if they are on show on an outside wall for example, it's a whole different kettle of fish.
1) Clean out all mortar from inside the hole, and also off the brick that is going in. 2) wet the underside of the upper brick, that is, the top of the hole..water will suffice. 3) apply a thin bed of mortar to the bottom and sides of the hole, and also to the top of the brick in your hand 4) push it in squarely so that it ends up flush with the surrounding bricks. 5) knock wedges into the top, but not too tight that they force the brick downwards, roofing slate is ideal, then point all around
why wedges, to press it into the mortar underneath? Would just a press down not be as good?
NT
How? :-p It's in the middle of a wall, plus the wedges aren't really to compress the mortar underneath the brick, but to hold up the one above it tightly prior to strong sand/cement being forced in from the front.
insert 2 screwdrivers or 1 flat bar, press down, job done.
right. So not always needed.
NT
setting the brick *into* the mortar below it is never a problem, it's own weight will hold it there for eternity.
yes, unless you want the ones above it to sag and/or tip.....IME when people put bricks back into a hole, they apply mortar to sides and bottom then slide the brick in, sometimes with a sliver of mortar on top which usually pushes off in a flat plate leaving a gap above it, even if it stays on, there's still a gap above it, they then just point the front bit until it looks ok, except the mortar adjoining the upper brick only goes in about an inch or two, meaning the back edge of the brick above is sat on fresh air!
Obviously it doesn't matter on a 4 inch wall because both sides can be accessed for pointing, on a 9 or 11 inch wall it cannot.
The message from "Phil L" contains these words:
Why would the bricks above sag or tip after you have inserted the brick? If it happens before then perhaps there is a need to do more than just refit one brick.
It is easy enough, even with just a trowel, to compact the mortar into the top and side joints in a 9" wall but with a cavity behind care is needed to avoid filling the cavity as well as making sure the mortar is sufficiently compacted. I find this is best achieved by working the mortar sideways towards both ends and giving it slightly more angle as you work outwards so that in the middle there is a final triangle to be filled that has little or no connection with the cavity. My experience is with stone, not brick, but the problems are much the same. I use a variety of packing tools depending on the thickness of the joint but a bit of planed 1/4" by 1/2" should be about right for brick. You don't want something that will exert too much force as it will squeeze the mortar right out of the back of the joint.
It happens that Phil L formulated :
My own method is to insert the brick in its place with no morter using wedges to hold it, then spray wet all the surfaces. I then point it by pushing morter in then push it sideways with a pointing trowel until it fills the joint up for the entire depth of the wall. The pushing it sideways helps compact it. Once there is enough morter in place, the wedges can be removed gently.
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