DEAR TIM: I’ve got a real mess on my hands. I removed ivy from my brick home and the brick is now splotchy. The brick had a slight sanded texture that was lighter in color than where the the ivy was growing. When I removed the ivy, the sand came off and exposed a darker Read More »
DEAR TIM: My relatives want to repair failing decorative iron columns and short stubby brick pillars that are part of a front porch on a home that's about 100 years old. A giant section of the house overhangs the front porch and I'm certain the decorative ironwork is helping to hold up the second story. Read More »
DEAR TIM: My wife and I moved into a new condominium building in March 2009. When it rains and there's heavy wind, we get water leaking through the brick. A gentle rain shower with the rain falling straight down causes no problems. What is causing the problem? There are many older brick buildings on the Read More »
DEAR TIM: My brick house was built in 1921. The brick are a mixture of brown, various shades of red, beige and black. I had some deteriorating mortar replaced and the handyman smeared the mortar on the brick. What do I have to do to clean up my brick mortar making sure I do not Read More »
DEAR TIM: Our house has a free-standing decorative brick wall with an iron gate. In various places, the bricks are crumbling. In some places, the entire face of the brick has come off. I do not have enough replacement bricks to replace the damaged bricks. Must I replace the bricks that are merely crumbling or Read More »
Maryann Mosca had an unfortunate loss in her life and now she's trying to finish a stone job and needs to change the mortar color. She lives in Branchburg, NJ. Here's what she sent me: "Let me start by saying my husband was a carpenter and put on a 2nd floor and front porch on our Read More »
Robyn has a house in my hometown of Cincinnati, OH. The corners of her concrete foundation are cracking off and she wants to know how to repair them. Here's her testimony: "The corners of my foundation are slowly falling off. I know I have foundation problems, but I want to put this big chunk back on Read More »
Caitlin Jenkins and her husband now live in Basel, Switzerland. But the building has a brick floor and she's dealing with efflorescence. Let Caitlin give you the details: "Hi Tim, I saw your YouTube video on efflorescence and I'm wondering if you have any particular recommendations for our situation. My husband and I just moved into Read More »
Carl King is thinking of buying an historic building in Baltimore, MD that has some brick erosion. Here's what he sent me: "I went to look at a building for sale in a historic district and found a problem with the brick I've never seen before. I wanted to know what you though the cause might Read More »
Julie has a nice home in Quebec, Canada. But she's got a problem with some sloppy mortar around her metal fireplace. Here's what she has to say: "We have a fire place with stones all around, I am trying to find the best option to hide the cement on the fireplace. I find it really ugly and Read More »
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