how do you point tuck a old chimney?

Question

im reroofing my house this spring. i want to fix my chimney before i do. it has morter issues has it is old. how do i go about fixing the morter joints. dont assume i know anything about it

Answer 1

clean out old moter go to home depot you will need morter
a they havea special tool for pointing up thats it

Answer 2

You will most probably want to totally dismantle the top 5 or 6 layers of brick, that stuff is usually the worst due to thermal changes and acids from the smoke.

Do not use a bag mix from Lowes. You want a coarse sand for your chimney, otherwise that will show up like a sore thumb on there . So go to a Gravel and stone company and get about 5 pails of the stuff for less than $5 .

Mix with Mortar cement, and add a hardener of about 1 cup to a 4 quart batch copled with 2 quarts of mortar and water to suit. .

Clean the joints out with a screwdriver and small air hammer best you can Take a spray bootle and wet down the joints good and soaked, Then take a large trowel and a small 1/2 blade trowel and work it into the joints. Holding the mortar on the large trowel and scraping it into the grooves with the 1/2 inch long blade trowel, filling them EVEN to top of brick. Do not play with the mortor or clean any off brick. Wait for two hours. Then take a grove tool and set the groove in the half hard mortar. Take a regular stiff brush and brush away the brick surfaces, all will come off nice and clean.

You can relay those top layers of that brick by putting about an inch of mortar down and squeezing bricks down into it adjusting them. and raking off the excess. Again, DO NOT CLEAN THE BRICK SURFACES.

After a couple hours, set the grooves with groove tool and brush the brick with a stiff brush., even an old garage broom will do the trick. Comes clean as a whistle and looks good.

Too many people attempting this try to smear around and clean up the wet mortar and even set grooves in wet mortar. That is wrong, it creates a mess. Wait those 2 hours before as above.

Answer 3

Loose mortar on chimney brick may be symptom of a far more serious problem. You probably don’t belong on the top of the roof trying to do cement work and hold on at the same time, so if you see loose mortar, seriously consider calling in a professional chimney cleaning company or a chimney specialist to do an interior chimney brick inspection. Moisture may have gotten into the chimney and started degregating the interior brick. When that happens it can cause the entire chimney to have to be replaced. So don’t kid around. Call them in.

If the loose or missing mortar is close enough to the ground for safety, you can easily do it your self. First, spray down the entire brick area with a garden hose. This both helps clean the area and dampens the surrounding brick so that it will not draw moisture from the new mortar.

Clear all the old loose mortar from the joint between the bricks. You may need to use a cold chisel and hammer to get some of the damaged mortar out. Chisel out the damaged mortar joint to a depth of at least one-half inch. If you do, be sure to wear goggles. Clean out the joint by blowing or brushing away with a whisk broom.

To fill in the joint, mix up a very small batch of Mason Mix by Quikrete. Use only a little water. You want the mixed mortar to be a plastic-like consistency. Put the mixed mortar on a small board that you will use as your pallet. Using the bottom edge of a mortar trowel, pick up a small amount of the mortar and carefully push it into the cracks. Be careful not to get the mortar on the surrounding brick work.

When you’ve done a few bricks and the mortar is thumbprint hard, finish off the joints by drawing a jointer or piece of dowel rod across each mortar joint at a 45 degree angle to match the old mortar joint. Make sure you do this after you have finished each area.

If an entire brick has become loose, take out the entire brick and chisel away all mortar. Then butter the top, bottom and sides of the brick with mortar and push it into place. Remove excess mortar immediately and finish off the joints as soon as the mortar gets thumbprint hard

Answer 4

sorry but its obvious you folks arent bricklayers...if it is really bad , hire it out. if it is only missing mortar here and there you can probably do it but it is going to look a mess when you are done. you dont use a screw driver or a cold chisel . you go to the hardware and ask for a plugging chisel, or a tuck pointing chisel. myself i use a 1/4 in diamond blade on my grinder. less pounding on the already fragile chimney. any way clean out anything loose. i take a pail of water and a plasterers brush and splash down the joints. easier than trying to drag 50 ft of garden hose up on to the roof for 30 seconds worth of spraying. mix your mortar as stiff as you can and still use it. stiff means less mess and less shrinkage. get a 3/8 tuck pointing trowel, the guy at the hardware should know what you want. and a brick trowel. put some mud on your brick trowel and tap it down a bit. this will make getting the mud on your tucking tool easier. fill joints and let sit until almost hard. take the striking iron that you just bought and tool the joints. brush any loose mortar off with any brush. if you want it to look good wash down with muriatic acid the following day, rinse well. i hate long answers but if youre going to do it do it right...you may need to rent scaffolding if your chimney runs up the side of your house. this isnt really a diy job if you want it to look good and last...

Answer 5

chisel out the old mortar, being careful not to chisel out the brick, mix mortar and fill in joints, point up. I use Type N mortar, sand and water, you can mix up in wheelbarrow bring it up to roof in a bucket. Call a Mason.

Answer 6

Hope this helps!

Answer 7

you dont. call a pro or risk death later.no ifs ands or butts period...