Bricks are the most frequently used material in our homes. They are most important of all the materials used in construction as they provide beautiful looks to our home while providing the desired stability. Two bricks are joined with the mortar. Now when this mortar is exposed to water or ice in the rainy seasons or even to the excess heat in the summers, it leads to its weakening. These joints of mortar worsen at various points around windows, walls or other exposed areas.
The process to repair the broken or worsened ends of the bricks is known as brick pointing or simply pointing. Hereby an overview will be given about how you can go about this process along with the tools required. Other that this you should try to stop the water or moisture from coming in contact with the brick joints. Although you can do this work yourself but still it will require a lot of patience at your end as at max you will be able to repair around 18-22 sq. ft. brick area in a given day. So if your work is large enough, requires rebuilding or containing repairs at the chimney or walls then you can also consider to hire a professional.
To do the brick pointing you will require hammer, broom, waterproof gloves, glasses and mask. Then other compulsory components are trowels (both brick and pointing). If doing at large scale where mortar is hard make use of angle grinder with appropriate diameter. Wear the safety equipments like glasses and gloves along with dust mask. Now with the help of hammer and chisel (thin enough to enter the joints) clean up the old mortar. Remove the old mortar in such a way that you reach the solid mortar base. Take care of the fact that bricks should not loosen too much.
If the cleaning up is taking time because of the hard mortar make use of angle grinder. Now clean up with the broom. Next mix mortar and water as prescribed by the manufacturer. Do not make it brittle, though it should be stiff enough. Keep it as such for 10-15 minutes. Now with the equipment fill in the joints with mortar in waterproof way. If the joint is deeper take two three turns to fill it. Try to work when the temperature is above 40 degrees Fahrenheit so that mortar should not set in too fast. In the market, you will get the tools that will help you in matching the old joints with new ones. Make use of them and your work about brick pointing is done.