Hello all. A contractor replaced my garden hose pipe because it rusted out. Replaced it with a thinner copper pipe and now there is a large gap around. The other side of the pipe is semi enclosed under a balcony and he plugged it with some clear silicone. I don't need it to look pretty but want to keep the really cold air out in the winter.
What can I use to plug it with?
We have a 121-year old triple-decker home in the Northeastern U.S. One of our exterior walls has been bowed like this for presumably many years (we moved in 2 years ago and it was already bowing at that point). Walking around my neighborhood, it seems like almost every other home has brick exterior walls either bowing inward or outward as well. Does this look like just normal settling? Or does this seem to look more like a structural deficiency? I know a professional’s opinion matters most, but I wanted to source some opinions from fellow homeowners too.
Here are some photos of the wall: https://imgur.com/a/bnYNak7
Hey guys, love our house just trying to make it less 1991. The siding is in great shape but shines a rose colour. The brick is not nice, random paint lines from previous paint job. And a super ugly brown in person.
I’m very handy, siding accessible everywhere except back (second story daunting). Lime wash brick? Garage is first thing you see, roof is redish brown. I want to minimize pink and brown
Board and batten for bay window? Help
Hi all,
I am looking to update the rear garden in my new home. I aim to paint the breeze blocks black and cover any facings of the breeze blocks with composite cladding before planting, decking and other stuff. Before I do this, I will need to tackle the efflorescence showing on the walls which looks pretty bad to me. How should I go about removing this and how do I prevent this from reoccurring in the future before I begin to paint (if this is even a good idea)?
I've only just recently moved so not sure when the previous owner had the walls installed or how long this has been showing. I'm also in Scotland where it rains almost every day if this info is of any use!
What do you guys think? I just bought this old house, I want to fix these stair risers and put a mural or something on them. Could I get away with putting up some forms and re-pouring on top of the bottom two and then skimming the top ones with patch repair or will they just fall apart again given that vegetation has found its way through? How do I fix this right so it lasts for another 20-30 years?
Woke up to a loud bang and saw that my windowsill broke off. Any idea what to look out for when finding a good contractor for this job?
I’ve placed a tarp over it to stop the rain from pouring in for now.
Looks like a pre-cast concrete block on a 100+ year old brick building. Is there a name or style for this type of block ? Or what is the history and reason for having it there? I find it very nice and thoughtful while bringing character to an otherwise boring brick multi plex which must have been built over a century ago.
Bottom layer has been gradually deteriorating over time and garage is always damp in the summer with the humidity……anyone else run into this???
So the link is the photos, I bought this house knowing this would be an issue, now it is. I was wondering what products and what do I do? I work for a concrete supply and rental place have done basically all trades except masonry. I'm taking my chimney repointing, capping, and this on for this year any help/advice would be appreciated.
Looks like they tried to dress it up before the sale or before that but it all failed.
Hey guys, I own a historic restoration company. I’m one of the few that perform that type of work in my state and the surrounding states. I’m personally a carpenter, I can repoint brick, rebuild a chimney, etc. but I am far from a mason.
My father was a foreman, layout guy, and then historic restoration mason towards the end of his career. I charge him out at about $75.00 an hour, is that a reasonable price? I’m at about $50.00 an hour and I specialize in things like plaster, lathe, old growth wood, shop carpentry, and work with historic societies. He’s done a lot of my history masonry so I wanted to know if I was off base with that pay scale. I know what I do is specialized, but even so I thought I’d ask. Thanks again!
Hi all!
I've spent probably ten hours on repointing subs for the past couple of years, and I'm royally confused. (Below, I'm numbering the premises that I've been told, for ease of feedback on whether they are accurate.)
Here's the problem: my house foundation (100+ years old) has fieldstones with large voids in the mortar (big enough to put my arm in).
My foundation also has occasional spalling brick with gaps in the mortar.
If the mortar is harder than the fieldstone/brick, so the story goes, then the water will go through the fieldstone/brick, freeze, and crack it. (I'm in a very cold climate.) Old brick, so the internet says unhelpfully, is somewhere between 220 and 4500 PSI.
Thus, many Reddit threads, and limestone salesmen, have insisted that I MUST use natural hydraulic lime (NHL) to repoint both foundations. They insist that any amount of portland cement is a disaster, and that I must use the same material as was originally used (presumably lime).
But whenever I talk to anybody at a masonry supply store, they look at me like I have two heads. They've never heard of anybody patching with NHL. (And I can only find one place in the entire northeast that sells NHL.) They tell me that I'm wildly overthinking the problem. Am I really better-educated on this than all the masons in my city?
And if NHL 2.0 has a compressive strength of 290-1000 PSI, why is that any softer (and thus better) than Type N (750 PSI) or Type O (300 PSI)?
Is it any different for fieldstone than for brick?
Any help would be greatly appreciated! (I want to do it right, but if I had just spent those ten hours of research on using portland cement like everyone else, I'd probably be halfway finished the job already...)
Just happened to look up and saw this part of my chimney. Can I fill in the gap, and if so what should I use?
English is not my main language and I am not familiar with any professional terms so pls have patience with me.
8 years ago I bought this house and it came with a masoned basement that was already sealed like this. I have no idea what exactly was used but it looks to be a combination of plaster and white paint. The basement feels damp and stuffy, but not unpleasantly so.
A lot of this houses interior ''logistics'' don't really make sense so everything might be possible. During it's lifetime lots of more or less professional people made changes on it. At the beginning the ceiling and parts of the wall were very crumbly and sandy so I've avoided using it since it covered everything with wall dandruff. Over the years it stopped falling off on its own but still comes loose by the slightest touch.
I've also included pictures of the fluffy stuff that has formed where the plaster fell off. I am pretty sure its not mold but some sort of gypsum/mineral crystal, I didn't want to touch it.
However, TLDR: What should I do with this remove/renew? My plan is to use the basement for pottery which will make the room more damp, I am worried more will come off. Or even pose a health risk.
I'd like to try covering up that mess with German schmear, which is irreversible. In that case, I'm looking for helpful suggestions.
So i had a builder that quoted me £450 and he removed chimnev breast. The issue for me is that he didnt even eveled up the bricks.. when I asked him about it he said that people iust put the plasterboard on the whole wall so no need to level it but that he couldn't do it anv deeper anvway because its a terraced house so it would go to the neiahbour. I did understand that he wouldnt be able to go deeper that he did.. but some bricks are iust sticking out comparing to others and my plan was to put hardwall and to plaster it, not puttina the plasterboard or the whole wall when the left and right side are fine and alreadv sanded filled in and ready to paint. Can I just leve it up myself manually? I got a chisel even though I know it will take me ages because its most of the bricks that it not corners longer than one longer than the other. At the top as vou can see he also didnt trv to make it easy for me with the ceiling because some of it still dangles from old plasterboard ceiling
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.
