You certainly do not want your house to end up looking like this after brick and mortar repairs. If you don’t pay special attention to brick and mortar matching, repairs can end up looking like patchwork.
Matching brick and mortar well is difficult. You might hear glib talk about it. Or the subject just might not be brought up at all.
You just need to make sure the contractor you hire has a great deal of experience matching brick and mortar and has the capabilities and resources to match brick and mortar well.
We will discuss matching brick and understanding and matching mortar separately… and then look at some images of mismatched brick and mortar.
Because each is a separate can of worms, although you have to concentrate on matching both for a truly inconspicuous match. Brick Doctor masons see so many mismatched brick and mortar projects, and we get hired to fix many of them; but it would be nice to see people getting better results with their brick repair investments.
Let’s look at Brick Matching First
Matching brick can be a lot like trying to match wallpaper—even if you know the manufacturer still makes it—each run may look slightly different. For this reason, when you build a new house it’s usually a good idea to keep a few extra (100?) in case you ever need a brick repair.
Ask your Masonry Repair Company to help locate brick
If you need brick for a repair, but don’t have any, we do not recommend you try to locate the brick yourself, as it can be a most time-consuming and frustrating experience! The size, color, and texture are all important, but if your blend has many colors in it, it will be somewhat more forgiving than if it were one solid color.
If you insist on trying, make sure to check with all local suppliers—including the salvage yards that reclaim used brick—before giving up. Take a sample of your original brick with you and be prepared to walk their yards with samples in hand, as some suppliers don’t know what they have on their own yards, or may not be especially helpful for small quantity purchasers.
It makes more sense to just let your brick repair professional
find the brick for you.
If an acceptable brick match is not available, other techniques can be employed as a last resort to simulate the original look, such as custom staining or harvesting.
Harvesting means taking brick from a less visible area of your home and these bricks are used to make the highly visible repair look great. The brick matching effort then is placed less conspicuously at the harvest location.
Both brick matching processes involve more costs, but especially if the repair is on a highly visible area, it makes good sense for maintaining your property’s value and appeal.
A difficult brick match before staining. Unfortunately the light is different on a new day but you should be able to see the difference
Staining complete after several staining steps.
Now Let’s Discuss Understanding and Matching Various Mortar types
The brand, color, and type of Portland cement and sand will drastically affect the color of the mortar, as will any approved color pigments that may be added to the mix. Since no single type is best for all purposes, it’s important that the person specifying the mortar understands the properties and ingredients required for a given application.
Besides matching any existing work, a good mortar must be durable, remain capable of bonding the bricks together, and help resist moisture penetration. Generally, Type N is used for non-load bearing walls, such as most brick veneer walls. Type S is used primarily for load bearing walls, those requiring increased tensile strength, or walls exposed to extreme weather conditions. Type M mortar cures the hardest, and may be used for brick paving or retaining walls.
A good repair mason should understand the basics of the different mortar types and be able to custom blend a long-lasting and reasonably matching mortar, while avoiding the use of non-approved additives such as latex.
You do not want a mismatch with a brick and mortar repair on your home
It never dawns on some homeowners that matching brick and mortar is critical to your home looking great. You want brick repairs that blend right in with the existing brick and mortar and not stick out like a patch job.
We see a lot of mismatched brick and mortar out there. Lets look at a few good examples of poor brick and mortar matching.
This mismatch screams out, “I’m a patch!” You can see the crack propagating up at the top of the image. No effort was made to relieve the stress in the brick before “repairs”. Make sure you see our information on why bricks crack.
This is not so much a mismatch as just terribly messy and useless. Probably someone had intentions to add an expansion joint.
Such a beautiful house and such a poor job of matching mortar.
Here the mismatched mortar has been ground out and replaced with a much better match.
Here is a carefully matched repair in contrast.
A settlement crack over a garage opening. Replacement bricks and mortar both have to be matched. Have you seen our discussion around brick problems of garage lintels?
The natural light on different days makes comparison hard, but this image shows well matched brick and mortar.
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How Can We Help You?
Over the years, Brick Doctor has done just about everything when it comes to repairing and restoring brick and matching brick and mortar as best can be done. We know what we are doing. Let us know if we can help you.
Don’t take our word for it. (Check out our testimonial and Reviews). And, even better, ask a neighbor for a recommendation. We have done tens of thousands of projects all over the DFW Metroplex since 1986, including for some of your neighbors.
Have any particular questions or concerns about brick and mortar matching at your home? We can help.
Brick Doctor is always ready to answer your questions, address your concerns or provide an estimate for repairs designed for the scope of your needs.
We look forward to assisting you. Reach out today. Contact us