Tips On How To Repair A Brick Chimney

Although, brick chimneys are durable, they tend to suffer minor structural damages that result from harsh, external weather conditions. The cool thing is that you don’t need to hire a professional to repair the damages for you. To help you out, here are tips on how to repair damages on brick chimney :

Clean The Debris

You need to clean and scoop-out all the debris on the chimney in order to identify the damaged areas. For a perfect look, you should remove even the loose bricks. You should use a hammer and chisel to break away any loose brick or mortar. To sweep-away the debris, you should use a paintbrush.

Wet The Area

Once the area is clean, you should moisten the repair spots by soaking a sponge in water and placing it on the repair spots. You should moisten the area until the surface is able to retain sufficient moisture for about 10-15 minutes. You should be cautious that you don’t drench the mortar. In addition to wetting the repair surface, you should also wet the replacement bricks.

Repair The Surface

You should mix two parts of sand and one part of cement in a wheelbarrow (this will be your new mortar). You should then place ½-inch thick layer of mortar on the first piece of brick that you want to use.

You should then place 1½ inches of mortar onto the area where you want to lay your brick,  place your brick on the repair area, and press it down to reduce the mortar size. To ensure that the brick is strongly in place you should spread mortar on the three sides of brick.

Repair The Cracks

If your brick chimney has cracks, you should knock out the cracked mortar using a cold chisel and hammer. For ideal results, you should break out about ½ inch of mortar along the brick. You should then wet the brick and mortar (left behind) and slide the new mortar into the cracked area.

To catch any falling mortar, you should place a trowel or piece of wood beneath the area that you are repairing. After filling the crack, you should smooth it out the area using the flat edge of the trowel.

Conclusion

These are tips on how to repair a brick chimney. You should be careful when removing loose bricks so that you don’t damage the entire chimney. If you feel that you don’t have the right chimney repair skills, you should hire a professional to help you out.

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