DEAR TIM: I’ve just placed an offer to purchase a two-bedroom house. It’s an older building, probably close to 70 or more years old. After placing the offer, I then took a closer look around the ...

DEAR TIM: My 10-year-old house developed some cosmetic cracks in the mortar. I got some bids to have tuck-pointing work done and nearly gagged when I looked at the cost. I’m wondering about using a ...

Q: I live in San Francisco and have brick stairs with a landing leading to my entry door. The brick and mortar is original (about 1928), and during the recent rains, I have noticed that the wood ...

According to the U.S. Department of Energy, the typical U.S. family spends close to $1,300 a year on their home’s utility bills. Small leaks around the house often waste a lot of that energy. There ...

Avoid costly damage to brick or stone structures by repointing loose, cracked or crumbling mortar. Step 1: Use a cold chisel and a hammer to clean out the mortar joint to be repaired. Place the chisel ...

Dear James: The mortar between the wall bricks is crumbling in spots and looks bad. How can I repair it so that it does not look much different from the existing mortar joints? — Nick R. Dear Nick: It ...

INDIANAPOLIS – Do you know what “repointing” bricks means? By definition, it consists of “removing a portion of the deteriorated mortar and redoing the joints with new mortar.” Doing that basically ...

One of the most common questions people have when preparing to tuckpoint (replace deteriorated mortar between bricks) is how to make the new mortar look similar to the "sound" mortar already in the ...

Dear Tim: I have a lovely brick patio that has mortar between the brick. After pressure-washing it this past weekend, I noticed several locations where the mortar has disintegrated. Most of the mortar ...

Q: Mortar is falling out of the inside of the granite foundation in my 137-year-old house, and wind and rain are coming through. What can I do to stop it? A: When mortar comes out, put new in. It's ...

Question: I’ve just placed an offer to purchase a two-bedroom house. It’s an older building, probably close to 70 or more years old. After placing the offer, I then took a closer look around the ...