Best way to seal cracks in brick wall.?

Question

I have an exterior wall made out of 12" cinder blocks in my basement. its showing daylight through some of the vertical gaps between bricks towards the top of the wall.

I want to seal them up for the winter. I was considering painting them, jamming caulking in there, or just putting some sort of plaster over the visible gaps.

I'm a renter, my landlord said to just paint over the brick.

I'm looking for a stop gap solution to last 1-3 years, so don't tell me to strip the mortar from between the bricks & remortar.

Answer 1

Caulking is definately not the way to go...They make a crack repair mortar based product in regular sized caulking tubes...It works through a caulking gun and is mortar based so it will bond properly..caulking will eventually peel on the edges etc..home depot etc sell this mortar in a tube around 3.00 a tube..

Answer 2

use a white caulking if you re going to paint it. its easier to see the cracks that didnt fill all the way. its hard to tell with clear caulking.

just run your finger over it to smooth out the joint and paint the day after. if done right,, you shouldnt be able to see the difference

Answer 3

They make little rolls of a soft material that you can press into or over tight gaps. It looks like a gray rope but it's soft and pliable. You can probably find it at Lowe's, it should work perfectly for the job. I'm pretty sure it's paintable too.

Answer 4

You have a problem my friend. It need's to be ground out and re-pointed. Best i can tell, not knowing where you live is. Look up a local mason or masonary restoration company. grinding the joint's take diamond blades , re-pointing. morter, and sealant gonna be costly.

Answer 5

fill the cracks with silicon caulking, or there is a butel rubber one, also, lots of caulking on the market go look ,

Answer 6

I would personally use the foam in a can that expands, trim off any excess and paint over it... good insulation.