Replies

1. 
   Guest_ | Sep 29, 1999 10:32am | #1

   *
   Are any stones loose?

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   Guest_ | Sep 30, 1999 01:48am | #2

   *One of the many things in life that always suprised me was that mortar is the weak point in a brick, block or stone wall. I had always dreamed that the mortar would be the glue --- its not. Surface bonding is somewhere around 12 times stronger than joint bonding. I ain't a mason but I have seen the same problem you raise and it makes me nervous. I would be reluctant to point any joints where the mortar is sandy and scrapes out easily. Have you tried digging around a few stones to see how deep the problem is? Perhaps its just the surface from freeze/thaw and other weathering. If its deep, you got trouble. Normally, we non-mason types clean out the joints, scrape out all loose mortar till ya' hit the hard stuff. Then, checking locally, select a mortar mix that is recommended for your climate and available materials. Remove and reset with fresh mortar, any loose stones; repoint any that have a good bed (the breakdown is not too deep). Its a long slow process of doing one stone or brick at a time (small sections at a time) and taking care not to open too wide a space. Temporary timber headers can be used to stabalize the sills/sill plates if the holes get too big. Do a bit at a time, allow it to cure and then more on to the next.

1. 
   Guest_ | Sep 30, 1999 06:43pm | #3

   *No stones were loose where I was poking but there were some significant "holes" - I could easy reach in 8-10" in some places. Also, on the exterior of my home I found pockets behind the exterior stones that were cavities with wet, sandy (ex-mortar) behind them. I hope I'm not compounding the problem - I cleaned the cavities out and put fresh mortar in. I'm hoping this lasts for the winter (I live in the Philadelphia area) because I plan to have a professional mason repoint next year.

1. 
   Guest_ | Sep 30, 1999 06:48pm | #4

   *I did dig around and no stones were loose, but there are some definitely deep pockets of loose, wet sany material (ex-mortar!). On the exterior of my home I just did some "emergency pointing" to last for the winter. I plan to have a mason do repointing (or whatever it takes) to get the stone in good shape. Unfortunately, a lot of my exterior stone is a schist that seems to hold moisture - when I was removing the loose points they were trying to hold onto stone that simply flaked off. I removed the flaky stone and repointed - this also meant filling some cavities behind the stone that were much deeper than I wanted to see.