I'm guessing you are using lime mortar. What type of finish for the joints. eg bucket handle, flush, weather struck and cut?

 

I have always done pointing by hand with a 1/4" slicker( jointer).

 

Did you grind it down or wear it down naturally to 3/16?

D.

 

if your pointing in and worried about the mess of filling use a bag. I usually tuck with a flat/bag then finish as needed

 

Bosch 1775E with a thin blade,
www.quikpoint.com for repointing.

 

Grout bag would probably be your best bet because any automated repointers(especially if you are not familiar with them) can be challenging on historical building for a person with no experience. You will take more time,but also more appreciation of what masons/bricklayers do.

As far as tucking goes,if you dont have 3/16 pointers and dont feel like buying any you can always grind bigger tuck pointer down.

I would also suggest cutting off about quarter of tuck...thats what they did to me in apprenticeship because I did not have a steady hand just yet

 

If your worried about making a mess you can also tape the brick above and below the joint. Best bet tho is to use a dry mortar mix (is always best) . A dry mix won't stain the same way that a wet mix will. Mix just enough water so when a ball of the mud is thrown about a foot in the air and caught it cracks but still holds it's shape

I wouldn't use a grout bag or anything other than a large trowel or hock and a skinny slicker. you can use a margin trowel to thin down a layer of mortar on the trowel so that it's about the same thickness as the joint (or at least close) then you can slick in a foot or more of joint at a time. Don't forget to pre moisten the open joints before slicking the mud in. The old brick will suck the water out of the mix in no time.

 

I wouldn't use a grout bag or anything other than a large trowel or hock and a skinny slicker. you can use a margin trowel to thin down a layer of mortar on the trowel so that it's about the same thickness as the joint (or at least close) then you can slick in a foot or more of joint at a time. Don't forget to pre moisten the open joints before slicking the mud in. The old brick will suck the water out of the mix in no time.

Honestly I would not advice doing that....taping sides of brick is sound advice but you can't tape the whole building.

When you tell them to make dry consistency,chances are they gonna make it too dry which will create other types of issues (tough to tool,brush,crumbling,etc) especially under artificial heat. Since seems like OP has limited experience with mortars...

its easier to make it just a tad of soupy side and work when consistency gets hard enough to tool/brush and also leave enough liquid for proportional curing.

Which brings us back to that using tuck pointer,masonry knife and hawk is not a good enough option; using grout bag which was adviced to be used since OP has limited experience might be a way to go not to get stuff messy.

Sorry not trying to bust your balls,just seems like you like to contradict to everything I said,not saying that I take offence on you expressing your opinion (when you give one,maybe it just seems so to me,but yea...),consider OP experience level .

 

Using a grout bag on such a small joint can be challenging in itself unless you have complete uniformity, small - round sand granules and a sufficiently wet mix (admixture?) to make it 'flow'. Otherwise your likely to spend a good deal of time unclogging the tip. That is a small joint.

As with many things with tradesmen everyone has their own way of doing things and what works for them for the area they live in and the techniques they use.

It seems to me you're going to spend so much time 'pressing in' the glob you hung on the outside of the mortar joint that you would defeat the benefits of the grout bag. Or it would have to be so wet that staining and shrinkage would be a big issue.

I'd probably use the hawk and pointer myself but hey... I can always be proven wrong.

 

Yep, for using a hawk and tucking tight joints, you have to pack it to bring the moisture. You are pissing in the wind trying to bag joints that tight.

Make the mud dry, put it on the hawk, knock it down to the approximate thickness of the joint and then cut it in and pack it using the appropriate sized tuckpointing trowel.

 

Actually, that covers the bed joints, for the head joints, use the same consistency but use a small margin trowel and cut the head joints in at a 45 degree to the left then again to the right and tool out with the tuckpointer.

 

What i typically do for heads is to put a ball of mud in my hand and using the slicker pry a piece between my squeezed thumb and fore finger. I'll also press it onto a trowel and the water tension will hold it on so I can turn it sideways and use the slicker to slide the mud into the joint. I use the trowel technique more for stone pointing and deep pointing tho since you can slide a much larger amount at a time. It takes some practice and even still I occasionally lose an entire trowel of mud by bumping it. the hand technique is very fast but make sure to wear a rubber glove cause the mortar (particularly lime mortar) will wear a hole in your hand, particularly in the spot where the tip of the slicker scrapes against your hand.

Good luck

Oh and Italian, no offence taken. If people can't disagree and hopefully learn from each others different learning experiences what is the point in these forums.

 

case closed

 

If you think 3/16" pointing on a wall is tight try pointing similar size joint on a vaulted roof. I should of taken a video.

We make all our pointers out of flat bar.

 

It is for me....because I'm talking about joints in my stonework.:thumbsup:

 

Worth a mention too, IMO..... if the building is historic with soft brick, avoid a strong mix. Chances are if it is pre/mid 1800's you probably should use a lime mortar or risk destroying the brick.

 

I'm pointing some blockwork on the interior of a basement.

I'm knocking out the head joints with a chisel, then smashing up the chunks and getting them out. Same with the bed joints. I'm pushing them all into the cores, except where the webs are. Where the webs are, I just go down an inch or so.

As for filling, I could see using a hock for a big job. I just use my trowel in left hand pointing towards the right, and shovel off the mortar into the head joints with my tuckpointing trowel. On the head joints, I hold my trowel the same way and my tuckpointing trowel vertical, pointing down into my trowel and shovel off the mortar into the joint. I'm trying to fill the whole head joint cavity between the ears. So after a while of shoveling the mortar off, I'll take my time and put it in one tp trowelful at a time. Takes a long time, but I'm inside and why work myself out of a job?

I meant to spray down with water first, but I forgot. I'll get a spray bottle and do that next time, or I can go to the garden sprayer if that is easier.

I gather that there is a chisel called a plugging chisel for tuckpointing work. My slim chisel is working fine for the block, but I would look for a special chisel if I were doing much brickwork.

 

Analyze the existing mortar and match strength as close as possible - more than likely lime mortar and a grout bag is out of the question for this size...unless you plan on floating it/smooth face brick.

What's the anticipated joint finish?, e.g flush, weather struck, recessed.

No matter what size joint...the hawk and slicker is tried and true...maybe even hit it with a rat tail if they want it slightly recessed.

 

Is that you SS? What is that, repointing or a gun show?:laughing::jester:

 

pointing

If my memory serves me,i believe Gerard Lynch has som e info. on his site on pointing gauged work.If not i believe one of his books has a chapter on that subject. WWW.BRICKMASTER.CO.UK.

 

Funny how there's different names for all our gear from place to place...

D nailed it... bullhorn, rat tail, take your pick...

We call this one The Westbrook Park slicker or waffle for short :laughing:

Don't drop a rat tail on your co-workers head that's for sure :wacko:

 

Funny how there's different names for all our gear from place to place...

D nailed it... bullhorn, rat tail, take your pick...

We call this one The Westbrook Park slicker or waffle for short :laughing:

Don't drop a rat tail on your co-workers head that's for sure :wacko:

Nice!!!
What do you use for your grapevine??

I see em...

 

SS- That is a Mighty Collection. Other guys call things as they will. I always ran with calling a jointer a jointer. And, a slicker (which is a man's best friend in stone work), one of these:

The width of these go from tiny on up!

I mention I need a slicker and I'm looking up a nose.

 

I'm with you JD3. I call all the tools superseal has on his desk jointers; grapevine jointer, bead jointers, square bead jointer, concave etc.....

and I call that think that you showed a slicker, Although I often use it as a jointer also since i like to use the wood handle to strike my joints. I have a few slickers that have handles that are barely 2".

 

Mostly W.Rose gear here...there right around the corner from me and I have buckets of this stuff.

That's just what I carry in my wallet :whistling

Check out my latest edition... A good friend comp'd me these not too long again and haven't had a chance to break them in yet,
sitting around rusting I am using the bucket trowel which I modified (not shown) and a 10" narrow London which I use mostly.

Pretty good friend he is :thumbup:

Let's see...9/10/14" narrow London's; 7" Philly pattern and 9.5 wide London.

I could beat the crap out of ya with the 14" I telling ya :laughing:

 

I got what I thought no one wanted:

 

holy smoke SS, your trowels look as good as your boots!! Rose does make a great trowel...one of mine is 10 yrs old this spring.

 

Ill bet you love this one " I have a trowel older then you!" :whistling

 

I have a 13" Rose leather that has been on my shelf for 10 years...

 

nobody wants it?

 

Here's the 9" vs the 14" again...It's a monster...pic does it no justice I'm telling ya

 

Pointing

SUPERSEAL It is funny how tools have different names in various places. Around here your rat tail is called a bulls horn.

 

You will never be able to fill those tiny joints once you grind`em so deep...

Paul
Tuckpointing Chicago

 

Are you serious? What do you guys use out there...conduit :whistling

 

Mudpan or bucket works.. Keep a 5gl. w/h2o, and use a grout bag.. Historical building= you have to double tap it.. Hollow is bad. GL, If you don't know your way around a grout bag or an auger gun, it may film/stain. You need wet mud. Experience helps a lot. As a matter of fact Masonry is another, 'I make it look easy' job.