Using power washer to remove old bricks.
Ledebuhr1
| Posted in Construction Techniques on
I have several bricks that have shaled off from the winter freeze under our porch. There in a tight spot to use a hammer and cold chisel. I can use a pnumatic chisel, but its very slow going. It seems as though the morter is harder than the brick, at least the inside of the brick.
Could i use a power washer, around 2500psi with a 0degree tip, to “cut out the morter, then then the bricks?
They were installed in 1996.
Replies
Maybe, if you were power washing with straight muratic acid instead of water...
Try an angle grinder with a diamond blade.
And eye protection.
That pressure washer will be introducing a lot of water and frankly a lot of mess with high velocity particles of brick and mortar being shot back at you. From my experience, it seems that every single particle will find and hit you.
I would use my demo hammer but you may not have one and not care to spend 60 bucks to rent one for a brick or two.
Try a hammer drill and drill through the brick repeatedly to weaken it up. Be sure to use a real hammer drill, not a wimpy little wanna be hammer drill. I have a Bosch that'll drill through red brick like it was butter. I don't really understand why it works a thousand times better than the other more regular drill but it does. Maybe because it runs at a slower speed and is a hammer drill only.... not a drill/hammer drill.
Anyhow, thats my 18 cents.
The difference between stupidity and genius is that genius has its limits. -Albert Einstein
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Thanks,
I could rent a electric jack hammer but it is a narrow area. there is a stair railing on one side, and a wall on the other. Its maybe 18" wide area.
I knew it would prabally through mortar around, but I though I might be quicker and easier than using a jackhammer, and I dont have a "real" hammerdrill either.
There are only about 8 brick that need to be cut out.
Just remember that water is what caused the problem to begin with.I'd use my demo hammer rather than the jackhamer for something this small
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Well it was not just the water but water and freezing.
Yews, but the freezing caused pressure to do the damage.
The pressure washer will also employ pressure. My warning was to make absolutely sure that you don't hit the surronding brick.It may be that you do not have the right brick on that surface
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I ask the brick guy at our local masonary store if he know why they were shaling off. He said that rain absorbes into the porch slab then in to the sand below. It eventuall migrates through the brick and pops out the face of the brick. He said keeping water off the porch slab is one way of preventing it.
My point is that some brick is more porus than others and is not intended to be used in a horizontal platform where it is sunject to that much moisture.
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Don't confuse a demo hammer with an electric jackhammer. the jackhammer is way bigger.
my demo hammer looks a lot like this one.
View Image
The difference between stupidity and genius is that genius has its limits. -Albert Einstein
http://www.peteforgovernor.com