Mortar for spot repointing?

All this talk of waterproofing and revisiting that old charmer of a thorocoat/seal thread got me thinking.

What type of mortar do I use for spot-repointing the interior side of the brick basement wall in our 1912-ish brick house? We’re not talking big areas — at most 2-3 sq ft scattered randomly over a 300 sq ft area. If that.

Project is so small that we don’t need/want to hire and we intend to finish the basement — just want to make sure everything is locked up tight before we do.

Prior owners already painted bricks/mortar with waterproof paint what must have been years ago. We solved any moisture issues by DIY regrading and extending downspouts.

I’ve seen so many conflicting answers on this — would Type N be just fine?

greenworks

in General Discussion 6 years and 8 months ago

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lsktiqkdgjxcfbg | 6 years and 7 months ago

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Most likely needs to be lime mortar with no portland cement. Check with limeworks.us, they are usually very helpful.

JohnHancock | 6 years and 8 months ago

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Just don’t paint it 😉

greenworks | 6 years and 8 months ago

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Awesome thanks!

JohnHancock | 6 years and 8 months ago

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I’m sure type N would be fine, especially for small patches

greenworks | 6 years and 8 months ago

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Thanks have read that in numerous places but how do you tell outside of sending brick for (expensive) analysis?

We are simply looking for some general guidance to do small patch repairs, and I’ve read that type N is a good generic type for pre 1930’s homes. Anyone have thoughts?

JohnHancock | 6 years and 8 months ago

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As long as your mortar isn’t harder than your bricks.