How To - Flush Pointing

[Music] [Music] in this video we will cover the process of repointing a building using the flush repointing style [Music] repointing work can be broken down into six stages raking out brushing down mortar mixing mortar application beating and protection the first task in repointing is to remove the existing mortar between the bricks after careful surveying of the existing brickwork there are several methods that can be considered if the old mortar is line based it will be relatively soft and easy to remove using hand tools a lump hammer and chisel can be used to gently remove the existing mortar if the existing mortar is cement and hard it may require the use of a grinder to cut through the center of the joint and loosen the mortar as you can see dust control is an issue with grinders and will require adequate ppe to protect the eyes and rpe to prevent dust inhalation to avoid dust a vacuum can be attached to the grinder such as shown here the use of a grinder also requires for the joint width to be sufficiently wide this activity needs to be undertaken by a skilled hand as it has the potential to damage the brick once the joint is broken the remaining cementitious mortar can easily be removed by hand tools avoiding damage to the existing brick the depth of the mortar to be removed should be at least the width of a joint or 20 millimeters whichever is the greater all of the existing mortar should be removed to create a clean squared recess the joints will need all dust and debris removed and this can be adequately achieved using a handheld brush or by gently rinsing them [Music] lime mortar is created by the mixing of lime sand and water in various ratios that dictate the overall strength of the mortar here we see mortar being mixed using a forced action mixer the type of line the aggregate size and type of sand as well as the mix ratio is normally specified by the architect or client for brick pointing it is common to use a natural hydraulic line a well-graded sand and a mix ratio of one part line to 2.5 parts sharp sand it is important to develop a standardized method of mixing on site to ensure a consistent finish as to do otherwise may result in variations on the facade here we're forming a small amount of mortar using cups to measure the mixed ratios and a paddle mixer to mix the mortar lime is a caustic material requiring appropriate ppe to be worn consisting of gloves and safety glasses as a minimum particularly when mixing [Music] lime mortar should be mixed sufficiently to create a stiff plastic mortar that can be lifted off the hulk with a flat jointer an experienced mason will know when to make minor adjustments by occasionally knocking up the mortar turning it over and beating with a trowel before the application of mortar all the joints should be clean and wetted down to help the mortar adhere to the brick mortar is then applied using a flat jointer and a hawk other names for jointers include flat bar jointers flat irons jointing irons and finger trowels hawks consist of a flat top and handle which can be made of wood plastic or metal for horizontal joints hold the edge of a hawk close to the wall to enable the mortar to be pushed into the joint taking care not to stain the brick fill the joints completely or slightly more than full leaving no holes cracks or depressions in the mortar joints with flush pointing the inserted mortar is left slightly proud of the surface allowing for the excess to be removed when it is beaten back [Music] once the mortar is sufficiently stiff the mortar is beaten back with a stiff brush here we see the use of a churn brush beating the lime mortar closes any minor shrinkage cracks increases the surface area to aid the setting process and also creates a fine exposed aggregate finish the time between the application of mortar and beating varies with the lime used the porosity of the brick or stone and the weather this can be a matter of hours or possibly days in cool weather lime mortar needs to dry slowly to achieve its optimum strength usually the protection is given by draping hessian cloth over it and we'd cover it with hessian to keep the sun off it we keep the dry winds off it because if it dries out too fast it cracks you know so this is why this is where we protect this that's the most important thing with lime you need to protect it what we'll do is we'll continually spray this you know for the next two days during the hot summer months dampening the hessian can help slow down the drying process in the winter months the hessian simply helps protect the new mortar from frost attack so this video is proudly brought to you by old stone conservation for further information please visit our website or take time to view our other videos in our advice series

Channel: Oldstone Conservation

Views: 36,857

Keywords: historic restoration, historic building, heritage, stone restoration, brick repointing, tuck pointing, pointing brickwork, pointing tools, brick pointing tools, repointing tools, brick pointing, pointing, remove old brick pointing, old bricks, mortar rake, angle grinder, oldstone, oldstone conservation, flush pointing, repointing, repointing dublin, brick resoration

Id: 8NPAKosLzN0

Length: 8min 24sec (504 seconds)

Published: Mon May 24 2021