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Posted by snapperhead on June 30, 2005, 11:37 am
Thank you very much for your comments and suggestions. You mention:
"The best tool for clearing out the old mortar is an angle grinder with a
1/4" thick segmented diamond wheel. "
This makes allot of sense to me.
Do you recommend a powerful grinder (9A which in the hands of a novice could
get out of hand and damage surrounding brick or a lower powered unit (5A
which may not last the life of the project)?
Is variable speed an important option?
I don't project much use for this tool after completing this project but
anything I spend will be worth it if I can complete this task.
Thanks again.
Snappa
--
> snapperhead wrote:
>> My home was built in the 1940's. When I purchased it several years ago
>> the
>> home inspector told me that I would need to sand down the metal lentils
>> above the doors and windows and paint and recaulk them.
>> I'm starting the job now and it seems that the moisture and rust from the
>> lentils has step cracked the pointing around the openings.
>> I've read a good deal about repointing on the web but I've yet to
>> discover
>> the correct tool for removing the old mortar.
>> I'm thinking some type of grinder or rotary tool.
>> Anybody have any experience with this? Could you suggest a list of tools
>> I'll need for this job?
>
> The lintels (lentils are beans) need to be protected from moisture. As
> you've seen, when they rust they can cause some pretty big problems.
> The exposed surfaces are easy to deal with - just use a wire disk/cup
> and a drill with sandpaper for the parts you can't reach otherwise.
> Use a rust converting paint as primer, then a couple top coats in your
> color choice.
>
> The best tool for clearing out the old mortar is an angle grinder with
> a 1/4" thick segmented diamond wheel. Makes short work of it. You'll
> have to use a masonry chisel, or as someone else suggested, a
> screwdriver, to clear out the areas you can't reach with the grinder.
> The grinder is a lot faster, messy as hell, more dangerous, more likely
> to mess up the brick if you're not careful and entirely worth it.
>
> Blow out the joints when you're done and then repoint. It's not a bad
> idea to caulk the mortar joint where the lintel extends into the brick.
> That's always the first place to go.
>
> R
>
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