People tend to choose brick homes because of its durability, nice appealing look and never fail to increase the resale value of the house. Bricks have been used since the era of the ancient Romans where they built roads by using brick which are still intact up until today. Bricks can even be recycled even when the house itself is being torn down in future. In addition, the brick homes can also withstand normal weather conditions and if you manage to properly maintain it, brick homes would be able to last for more than a century. Through the article below you would be able to learn some tips on maintaining your brick homes.
To maintain brick homes, you need:
- Synthetic scrub brush
- Chisel
- Bleach
- Water
- Mortar mix
- Garden clippers
Maintaining Brick Homes
Tips for Maintaining Brick Homes
- First thing that you need to do is to inspect your brick home at least once a year.
- Make sure to inspect the mortar that holds your brick homes together.
- The most common damage that you will find on brick homes are the mortar that you used for holding the bricks together.
- You need to hose the brick down in order to check for any crumbling of mortar as well as to check for any existing of moss, mold and mildew.
- Whenever you want to remove most that grows on your bricks, you can simply use a synthetic scrub brush and a mixture of household bleach that you add with water.
- Make sure to inspect the mortar that holds your brick homes together.
You might think that waterproofing your brick home will help you clean the bricks. However, it does not always end up as you plan because it can also result in rapid runoff along with frost damage.
- Covering your homes with ivy vines may look nice but it can also damage the underlying brick and erode them.
- You not only need to check for vines but also other plant that grow on your brick’s façade.
- In order to remove the vines, you should not pull them off as they will destroy the bricks. You should instead cut the vines as close as the soil on the brick and then let them die and fall off the brick in a natural way.
- You not only need to check for vines but also other plant that grow on your brick’s façade.
- In addition, weep holes located at the base of a brick surface must be kept clean all the time.
- The small openings designed at the base of your brick are built into the original brick façade as a method for allowing moisture produced by the wall to be drained to the outside area.
- Usually, the holes might get clogged thus causing water damage if it is not cleared immediately.
- The small openings designed at the base of your brick are built into the original brick façade as a method for allowing moisture produced by the wall to be drained to the outside area.
- Another thing that you should check is signs of Efforescence which is a chalky deposit that occurs on the surface of your bricks.
- In another word, it is a gradual growth of salt crystals coming from the brick that move toward the brick’s surface whenever water managed to penetrates the bricks.
- Efforescence can be cleaned by using a stiff brush. As for stubborn Efforescence, you can use a chemical cleaning agent to remove it.
- In another word, it is a gradual growth of salt crystals coming from the brick that move toward the brick’s surface whenever water managed to penetrates the bricks.
- If you find any crumbling mortar, you should repair them immediately but you need to clean the bricks thoroughly before doing any repairing task.
- Take a chisel and chip out any bad mortar in order to remove the damaged section.
- Next, you have to paint a bonding agent on a good mortar before you mix them together and apply the new mortar onto the affected surface on your bricks.
- Once you finished doing the above step, you have to finish the new joint by simply running your finger along it in order to create a shallow depression in the mortar.
- If there is any residue left on the bricks, you can clean them off with an acid wash which can dissolves any of the leftover mortar and at the same time leaves the brick still intact.
- Take a chisel and chip out any bad mortar in order to remove the damaged section.
- If your damaged bricks are too bad, you should replace the bricks with a new one by chiseling out the mortar surrounding the affected bricks and remove it.
- Make sure you clean the opening and dampen it with water or use a bonding agent.
- Then, you have to mix and spread your new mortar onto the bottom of the opening.
- After that, you can lay the new brick and mortar at its sides and top before finishing the new joints simply by running your finger lightly over the new mortar. Make sure you clean off any excess residue once you finish the above step.
Whenever you start to repair your brick wall, make sure that you have chosen the right type of bricks and mortar which are similar to your existing bricks and mortar used for your house. You can simply check the age and location of your house in to order to determine the correct products to use. Apart from that, the climate and function of the brick wall is also important whenever you want to select bricks and mortar.
Always remember that whenever you want to maintain your brick homes,
- If you decide to use pressure-washing method on your bricks, it is recommended that you seek advice or assistance from professional people because you can easily damaged the bricks if the pressure is not suitable.
- If you want to remove paint from your brick home, you can use chemical solution. You can also use sandblasting method but it is also recommended that you seek advice or assistance from professional people.
- Make sure that you read your cleaning product’s label accordingly before cleaning your brick homes because you should avoid using product that can damage the brick.
- Make sure you clean the opening and dampen it with water or use a bonding agent.
