If I have damaged brick or bricks on my home, how will you find a brick to match?
Answer:
In some cases with brick restoration, it is sometimes hard to find your particular brick. This is especially true if they do not produce your brick any more. If this is the case, we simply do our best to acquire the best possible match. Fortunately, here at Art of Stone, we are the best in the business at matching up required bricks. A majority of times we’re able to find your brick! We’ve included some links to help in your search for restoration. If this does not help we will gladly do the foot work for you!
Why do the faces of the bricks fall off on my chimney or porch?
Answer:
Chimneys and porches are the first part of a masonry structure to have issues with bricks. Many of these fractures are invisible to the naked eye. If you are able to see micro fractures that look like veins on the face of your brick, then there is cause for concern. It may need to be restored or it may need to be completely rebuilt. In some cases, we are able to go in and extract a bad brick if the surrounding bricks are still solid. We can also grind out the head joint and bed joint to prevent it from damaging other bricks. Our experts will chisel the bad brick out and inlay new bricks where needed. Most of the time, bricks tend to shale due to poor maintenance.
What is all the white film on my chimney or porch?
Answer:
Most brick is cast out of clay. Clay contains minerals and brick is porous. If your bricks are taking on water, the sun will eventually dry them out and draw out the mineral deposits on the surface of your chimney or porch. Not to mention salt will also add mineral film or deposits.
What is tuckpointing and how do I know if I need it done to my home?
Answer:
Tuckpointing is generally caused by erosion of the mortar joints, settlement from a home shifting or settling in certain areas of your masonry structure. Tuckpoint is not the solution in all cases. Tuckpoint can only be performed if the brick is still intact to its bed joint and head joint. If the brick is broken away from its joints, it must be reset. In most cases it is deemed to be rebuilt to restore your mortar joints. We grind out as much of the bad joint as we can, dust it out with a brush and use either a pointers bag to fill in joints or use a slicker with our hand boards to fill in the joints. Once they start to settle, we begin the process of “tooling the joints.”
What if I have a poor collar wash that is cracked or missing, or missing a crown on my chimney?
Answer:
These items above could be the cause of water getting inside of your chimney and wreaking havoc on your brick. Not only is the brick getting wet from the outside, but is also getting wet inside. Brick is extremely porous, so it acts as a sponge. Now you’ve gotten the outside elements going to work inside of your structure. Rain, snow or sleet could be thawing, freezing, expanding and contracting, causing your brick to fall apart. This also happens to your porch if you don’t have an awning covering and protecting it. Allowing it to constantly get hammered by the elements. Salt is another big enemy to all concrete or brick structures. We tell our customers to use sodium chloride. It’s safe and effective for your masonry and concrete structures! A tad costly but definitely worth it in the long-run!
