Sorry in advance if this isn’t the place to ask!
Is there an easy(ish) way to remove the mortar that is between the red and white bricks? Trying to avoid damaging the original bricks if possible.
Google recommended chemical “dissolvers”, but I haven’t been able to find any examples of it being used in this scenario.
I've only ever worked behind a desk, self-employed, in banking.
That being said, due to the world right now, I get the feeling I'm about to lose everything.
I may need to re-skill, and I'm wondering how difficult it is to get into bricklaying in my mid-late thirties. What's the timeline to becoming proficient, and what's the market like for contractors right now?
I have UK passport and greencard in US.
I have just had an offer accepted on a ground floor flat. The chimney breast is this strange Y shape (photo attached) - I have never seen anything like this before! Has anyone seen this before? Wondering if this is structural or just decorative? TIA!
I’m currently 17 doing A-levels at college, but only because my mum wants me to.
After I finish them, I want to become a bricklayer because I’d much rather work with my hands than go to university.
Seeing as bricklaying apprenticeships are quite hard to come by (at least here in Leicester), I was looking at doing a level 2 bricklaying course. I don’t think I’ll need to do a level 1 because I got a 6 in English Language and a 5 in Maths, but I’m wondering if it’ll be more attractive to employers if I at least get some experience in college first.
My plan is to get at least a year or two of experience and then move to Germany because of their labour shortage and good pay for bricklayers.
Looking to buy this house and need feedback ASAP because the July 4th holiday weekend effectively cuts my option period in half. Today may be the last day I can actually get contractors out there.
Problem: There is a crack in the mortar that spans almost the entire archway above the front door. The crack stops at the bottom of the arch and does not run all the way to the ground. It appears that it has likely been repaired/patched/covered up previously b/c the mortar is a different color.
Question: How severe is this? Do I need to have a mason come inspect? Is this simple repair where they just patch it with more mortar? Or does this mean the entire front brick veneer/facade above the arch going to fall off the house?
I don't know enough about brick veneers to know if it's attached from behind.
On the wall perpendicular to my garage there are these 2 holes in the brick. Sometimes I see wasps and bees going in and out but I have no idea what these do and whether I should block them.
Does anyone know what these are?
So I’ve got the 1880s solid brick house and one of the arches is failing. A lot of the house needs repointing severely and areas where it doesn’t has non lime mortar.
As seen in the pic, it’s bulging forward at the corner and the three bricks with a crack around them have dropped some. I’m theorising it needs raked and repointed with temporary support added to help those three drooped bricks back into place. Any thoughts? TYIA
ETA: added another pic in the comments below
My dad and I gave a shot at installing the brick veneer for an outdoor kitchen we are building. It was definitely a huge learning curve but overall I think came out pretty good. Our spacing is much closer than I thought. I plan to mortar between them today but was curious what tool I could use to Jointer the smaller gaps? Any tricks y’all have seen or used?
I went to buy some and I find that they are not as dense as the ones I used for a brick wood oven many years ago.
I asked the people at the store if they have any specs on them or if they knew where the temperature rating is but they did not know.
Will these work for a barbecue?
The Banter Man’s youngest apprentice bricklayer. Won’t be long before he’s on site, keeping the trade banter going and learning the craft the right way. The future of UK construction starts with the next generation of builders.
Can anybody tell me by looking at those photos what tipe of mortar I need to do some repointing of those bricks ? I know there are several different tipes. I am not sure if this mortar is just sand and cement or if there is lime in it. The house is an old terrace built probably between the 1920 and 1930 in Sheffield UK. Any advice is massively appreciated.
had to repair some spoiled bricks however the new ones don’t match the old ones, how to blend??
Has anyone got experience of retraining as a brickie later in life? And what are the practicalities of training, and beyond i.e. do people want to employ the older person without the associated experience?
I am half way thru redoing my mudroom that was in desperate need of some TLC. As I am continuing laying my reclaimed bricks there obvious ‘nice’ little squares and rectangles between the bricks and I am wondering if the polymeric sand will be a good option to fill them or it is better cutting bricks to fill those up. I’m looking forward to your advices and please be kind, I’m a novice but I read a ton of threads here and tried to follow all advices as much as possible…
I went back to the first season after watching till like the 6th season and realized just how small brick was. Awwwwwww he was so cute!!
"You know you're my hero, right mom?" ❤️🥹
So ADORABLE!!!!!!!!!!!!