Recently I completed a job which I have to admit, bored me
senseless. Repointing, and to make it worse, pointing an old stone wall! This
was the first time I’ve ever taken on this sort of work and no doubt, it won’t be
the last. I’m just amazed I got away with it for this long!
(Gable ends before re-pointing)
As a seasoned builder, pointing wasn’t a hard job. Though
being of a younger generation, I choose to use a pointing gun opposed to hawking
in the mud by hand. Using a pointing gun made life easier on an old stone wall,
though I couldn’t offer a comparison with brick thus to which method would be
faster.
The mortar gun used was a cheapie, around 5 Euros from Brico
Marche. It was smaller than the others available in the build centres, but being
in France, I wasn’t going to be fooled by paying 140 Euros; (Point P).
I’ll have to admit that a larger gun would have reduced the
amount of times it had to be refilled, and this wouldn’t have been a problem if
you pointed the traditional way of hawking it in.
The mortar used was a ready-mix lime mortar, just add water
and mix. You have a choice of colours, as such, I didn’t have to colour match
as everyone uses the same pallet.
Cleaning out the old joint was easy on this job, being a
traditional drystone wall; all that had to be done was raked out old dry mud. I
took out 15 to 20mm’s, which equates to 2.5m2 for 25kg of “Renovation Enduit”.
Once the mortar was in the joint, I waited till it started
to become firm before I started the cleaning process. I think this is where
most people go wrong and can the job look awful.
Quite simply, I had two small thick paint brushes. The first
brush I dipped in water and pushed the mud into the joint, compacting it. Then I waited for the mud to go firm again, a
little firmer than before and used the second brush to wipe of the excess.
(Gable wall after pointing)
If you do happen to make a pigs ear of it, then have a
cordless drill to hand with a brass brush bit to hand and use lightly. (Wear goggles!!)
(THIS IS NOT HOW IT SHOULD LOOK!)
Pointing isn’t a hard job; I’m no expert so I reckon anyone
can do it. Just think you’d be saving 35 – 60 Euros per m2, paying someone else.
If you have high walls, you will have to beg, borrow or still some scaffolding
as trying to point on a ladder is dangerous and hard work on your legs.
My last recommendation is to have a radio to hand; it will
help to pass the time.
Pointing, what’s the point!
Repointing is
the process of renewing the pointing (the external part of mortar joints) in masonry construction.
Over time, weathering and decay cause voids in the joints between masonry units
(usually bricks), allowing the undesirable entrance of water.
Water entering through these voids can cause significant damage through frost weathering and
from salt dissolution anddeposition. Repointing is also called pointing,[1] or pointing up, although
these terms more properly refer to the finishing step in new construction.
(From Wiki - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Repointing)
Types of Brickwork Pointing
- · Concave or Bucket Handle Pointing.
- · Weatherstruck
- · Recessed or Raked
(Ref: http://www.i-brick.com/types-of-brickwork-pointing/)
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