I know what it’s like to own a home with weeping mortar joints. Furthermore, I get how it feels to have neighbors and visitors who are less than enthusiastic about this look. Not only can this sort of façade be polarizing, but time can also make it an issue homeowners feel compelled to address, especially after hearing people groan, say, “Ew! Yuck!”, or even ask with genuine sincerity, “What do you think they were trying to do here?” as they stare at your solidified ooze.
In my
previous post I explained how someone might consider Embracing Weeping Mortar. But here, I’ll
introduce two other options.
I suspect
that the group of renovators who can say, “I want to grind out or chip off all
the joints of my brick house!” is a small club. And it would be wonderful to
imagine the possibility of waving a magic wand and having your sloppy joints disappear.
But real-life solutions beyond sorcery do exist.
Let’s say
that you’re like I was, finding yourself in a situation where you feel as if
you absolutely must deal with a weeping mortar situation. Besides mine—a painted
brick house where the uniqueness of this style has been eclipsed—I can think of
another circumstance that would make this condition tougher to ignore much of
these joints being damaged badly.
Perhaps
over time, a multitude of chunks have been victimized by Mother Nature and her weaponized
freezing and thawing. Or maybe someone started yanking off invasive vines, and
in doing so they accidentally broke off large sections of the weeping mortar.
What now?
If these
joints have been damaged, I supposed there are ways to repair or make these no-longer-uniform
spots less noticeable. However, if the area(s) of concern is/are widespread,
other measures may be taken. For one, grinding out the joints and replacing them
with fresh mortar is one possibility. Or as I did, you can chip them off.
Certainly,
I suppose there are ways of patching and repairing the damage. But there are
two huge issues with this. First off: cost effectiveness. And secondly, a big
question: Will the repair work end up being more noticeable that the damage looked
before mitigation or corrective measures were taken? I believe this is highly likely.
Because of
these practical considerations, I will go on to explore two other options in
detail.
Grinding
Weeping Mortar – Coming Soon
Chipping Off
Weeping Mortar – Coming Soon
