brick bashing

It could be worse. I could be pregnant.

After another round of calling contractors, no return calls, and one no-show, I finally got one to show up today.

I've done enough research on old brick houses to know that if you're going to do any tuckpointing or other repairs to the bricks that you're supposed to use hydraulic lime mortar which is what this house was built with.

Lime mortar has the same properties as the soft brick in that it absorbs and releases moisture and expands and contracts like the bricks. Portland cement mortar, which is used in new masonry construction, is rigid and impermeable to water. The problem when you use portland cement mortar on soft bricks is that the bricks will absorb moisture and the water will become trapped behind the mortar. And when the bricks expand because of heat or becoming waterlogged, the rigid portland cement will squeeze the bricks and cause cracks or defacing. And when the bricks shrink back to their dry size, they become detached from the mortar.

So now I have a litmus test for any contractor that might be doing something with our bricks. I'll ask him what kind of mortar he would use and if he says portland cement, he's out.

The guy today suggested using spray foam insulation instead of mortar.

So I made up my mind to fix it myself. I watched a ton of youtube videos on how to clean out old mortar, how to mix historic lime mortar, how to reset bricks and how to tuckpoint.

Today I started cleaning out mortar and one by one every brick started coming out. And the further back I went I started noticing waterlogged bricks and wet mortar.

I stopped.

You're looking at the exterior layer of bricks there. One swift knock of a hammer and you'd be looking at our deck.

I discovered a very slow leak coming from the bottom of the window. God only knows how long water has been flowing down between these bricks and washing away mortar.

This is way beyond me. So now I'm on the hunt for a competent mason.