Repoint Historic Brickwork
DeGruchy Masonry, Inc performed Paint strip, Restoration Wash, Cut all mortar joints and repoint this brick farmhouse. Color Code DGM 50. It is located in Allentown, PA
This brick building had a myriad of imperfections to the masonry. deGruchy Masonry restored the brickwork with a low pressure wash and a full repointing, which always includes the removal of the existing joint to adequately key-in the new high lime content repointing mortar.
When we see a detail that should be preserved we immediately make the owners aware of our findings. We want to see the detail saved since this is what makes historic masonry unique. Here the original red mortar bands that were hard to detect before cleaning were noted and maintained.
  The aesthetic value and the architect's original intent is greatly appreciated now that this small but significant detail is restored in the completed project.  



This single home in historic Newtown, PA needed cleaning of the impregnated black atmospheric pollutants, reversal of staining from tar lines from an old porch roof, "chalking" from run-down paint under the window sills, and efflorescence.

deGruchy Masonry also performed a full repointing of the mortar joints.

Certain areas of the wall had brick whose fragile "fired skin" faces came off due to excessive wetting and drying occurring in those areas or because of the use of improper high portland cement patch pointing which caused the wetting and drying cycles to occur through the brick and not through the joint.

deGruchy Masonry replaced some of the brick and repaired others with a proprietary brick patching material.
The hard driving north-east rains often caused the original owners to cover their solid brick and stone walls with clapboard siding on the NE side to protect themselves from the blowing wind-driven rain and cold. These new owners did not want to renew the siding but restore the brickwork. deGruchy Masonry removed the siding and lath. We
then cut out all the mortar joints approximately 2-1/2 times the width of the joint. We patched the nail holes in the brick and repointed in a high lime content mortar.
 
 
The the rear wall also had black atmospheric pollutants that became impregnated into the porous brick. We performed a low pressure wash, a joint removal 2-1/2 times the joint thickness, repointed in a high lime content pointing mortar.


The owner of this home thought that the paint on their brick was a permanent problem until they heard our radio invitation to visit us and see our work display at the Philadelphia Old House Fair. We received a call, they received a restored brick home.

Something to consider when removing paint in order to get back to the original brickwork is that painting was often done to freshen-up a mess of imperfections hidden by the paint. These imperfections include salmon brick, years of staining and mismatched repairs. When paint is removed you will re-inherit the previous conditions that prompted the painting in the first place. Sometimes paint is used inappropriately to temporarily slow water infiltration into the building. deGruchy Masonry has received the grand task of "reversing previous intervention." This is a nice way of saying..."fixing the mess somebody else made and then covered up with paint." It often includes removing state-of-the-art and tenacious mortars including caulking and concrete modified with additives to make the repair material the hardest stuff known to man!
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