Hi, it's me again. I've been reading a lot about how you can save money buying this or that thing cheaper, and that's fine, but what if it's something really big like your roof is leaking or the bricks are coming apart in your chimney.
Most people are afraid of doing something like laying Masonry in Nashville or fixing or sealing up a brick chimney, but it's really pretty easy. I learned to lay brick by reading a basic book on basic brick work and also by spending a little time watching bricklayers at work, and observing their motions. It took a little practice, but not too long before I got the hang of it, and the end result was a small brick cottage that I built complete with two doors and five window openings.
The biggest challenge to working with Nashville TN Masonry Contractor is getting the mortar to be just the right consistency. If it's too wet it runs off the trowel and if it's too dry it's too hard to mold. There's a process called tucking, where you squish the mortar in between the bricks and seal up the cracks. In a lot of older homes, the brickwork was made with mortar that was high in lime or otherwise not quite as durable as the mortar used today. So over time with the weather freezing and thawing, it eventually starts to crumble on the outside. Well you can save it by sealing it in with new mortar.
The trick to tucking is to not have too much mortar on the trowel, but yet apply enough to the seam so that after the initial application you can then take the tip of the trowel and press it into the crack. The mortar is pretty forgiving in that it doesn't dry hard for up to an hour after you apply it. So by taking a wire brush to your sealed joints, and using a finishing tool, your repairs will end up looking quite professional.
If it's some new project you are doing you will want to use a string in order to get the bricks perfectly straight. It takes some attention to detail to do this. I ended up using a tiny level to make sure each brick was level in both directions (as well as straight with the string) before moving on. I wasn't as fast as the professionals, but my work is solid and it looks great!
I've done just fine with the bags of mortar you buy from the hardware store for this. A good book is indispensable, of course. I can't teach you how to fix old bricks in a short article like this, but I think you'll find that when you get into the swing of things, you can do this and probably save thousands of dollars on repairs. If you get good at it, you might be able to even go out and make some money at it
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I would recommend rubber gloves to protect your hands. And make sure to clean your tools thoroughly afterwards. Dried cement is almost impossible to get off.
I hope this is useful information, and that it might motivate you to take on something you may have been afraid to try before reading it. The tools for brick or stone masonry are relatively inexpensive, and the money you save can be in the thousands.
