YOUR OFFICIAL END-OF-SUMMER HOME CHECKLIST
The purpose of home maintenance is to preserve your home for years to come and avoid costly disasters. But sometimes, parts and pieces crumble, crack, or corrode in spite of your best efforts. When these problems arise, it’s best to tackle them before they become unmanageable. Tips for Tackling Your Home Maintenance To-Do List
Crumbling Mortar Brick, stone and tile are natural materials that have been used throughout homes for centuries, from outdoor walkways to natural countertops. But for materials held together withmortar, it’s only a matter of time before you begin to see some crumbling. Amortar breakdownmay also appear as a crack. You may find these issues inside your fireplace, on an outdoor wood-fired oven, in a tile shower or in your tile flooring.
space. A brick trowel and pointing trowel are useful for guidingmortar into the joints without getting it on the face of the bricks. Press the mortar firmly into the crack, and use the proper finishing tool to match the existingmortar joint. Standard examples are raked joint, v-joint, flushed joint and concave joint.
Start by removing the material that is crumbling. Use a hammer and flat chisel to knock out the loose mortar. For larger areas, you might want to use an angle grinder fitted with a masonry blade. The angle grinder is useful to make relief cuts — grooves cut along the center of the decayed area. When using the chisel, direct the break toward the relief cuts. Next, thoroughly clean between the joints. Newmortar won’t stick to old, loose mortar. You can clean out the area using a hand brush, vacuum or compressed air. Now you’re ready to mix the mortar and apply it to the
Crumbling Foundation
If you have a cracked or crumbling foundation, it’s best to get it evaluated by a professional.
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