Services
Chimney brick and mortar work in Altamonte Springs
Why our family-owned crew in Altamonte Springs repairs brick and mortar the way it does.
Why stronger mortar can harm old brick
Using the hardest mortar available sounds sensible, but guidance from the National Park Service and the Brick Industry Association points the other way. Repair mortar should be softer and more vapor permeable than the bricks it joins, and no harder than the mortar already in the wall.
Hard, dense mortar leaves moisture and stress nowhere to go except into the brick faces, which can crack or pop off at the edges. Keeping the joint as the weaker part of the wall means future wear shows up in mortar, which is far easier and cheaper to renew than brick. Our masons match the mix to the chimney for that reason.
Cutting out old mortar to the right depth
On a repair that includes joint work, the old mortar comes out before new mortar goes in. National Park Service guidance calls for removal to at least two to two and a half times the joint width, which for most brick joints works out to about half an inch to an inch, plus any loose mortar beyond that.
Shallow patching over crumbling mortar tends to fall out within a few seasons. The same guidance warns that power saws on thin brick joints almost always chip the brick edges, so our masons rely on hand tools and closely controlled equipment next to the brick. Joint-only jobs are booked as their own service; this step matters here when a crack repair crosses worn joints.
Learning what the old mortar is made of
Chimneys were not all laid with the same mortar. Brick Industry Association guidance suggests considering a test of the existing mortar when the goal is a matching repair mix, since its makeup affects strength, color and how it handles moisture.
On most jobs a close look at hardness, color and sand tells our masons enough to choose the mix. Where the chimney is older or the mortar behaves unusually, we tell you whether more testing is worth the time and cost. Either way, the mix we plan to use is named on your estimate, and we explain why it suits the brick that stays.
