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Home > Search for DIY Projects by Trade Type > DIY Projects Covering Brickwork, Blockwork, Masonry and Stonework > DIY Guides Covering Mortar Including Mixing, Repair, Pointing etc.

DIY Guides Covering Mortar Including Mixing, Repair, Pointing etc.

This page includes links to DIY projects involving mortar such as pointing and repointing brickwork as well as advice and tips on working with mortar and how to mix it correctly. Browse through the below list and click on your chosen link to view the project information.

  • Cleaning Mortar From Bricks

    Bricks - cleaning and removing mortar from bricks - Find out how to clean mortar off of bricks so that they can be reused and recycled, using a hammer and bolster and muriatic acid


  • Pointing Brickwork

    Brickwork - pointing and repointing brickwork - In this easy to follow guide we show you how to point and repoint brickwork including preparing brickwork and mortar for repointing


  • Mixing Concrete

    Concrete - mixing concrete - We explain what concrete mix ratio you need and how to mix concrete, including a handy concrete mix ratio calculator for your materials


  • SBR additive for concrete

    Concrete Admixtures - Different admixtures and how they affect a concrete mix - Learn about the different admixtures that can be added to a concrete mix to improve its workability, resistance and many other factors


  • Repairing Concrete Cracks Using Tarmac Repair Concrete

    Concrete repair - Find out how to repair damaged concrete cracks, splits and joints and ensure the repair is strong, stable and will last a long time


  • Chimney to be pointed

    How to Point and Repoint a Chimney Breast Wall - Learn all you need to know about how to point or repoint a chimney breast wall to fix water and moisture ingress and mould and damp issues


  • Mortar Colour

    Mortar - matching sand and cement - How to correctly colour match sand, cement and mortar mixes if you need them to match exactly to existing mortar, pointing or repairs


  • How to Mix Mortar and a Table of Mixes for Different Types of Mortar

    Mortar mixes - How to mix mortar for a variety of different jobs including house walls, chimneys, pointing, paving, render and floor screed


  • Standard builders sand

    Sand - Different types of sand and what each should be used for - Learn about all the different types of sand and how each should be used, including what sand actually is and why some are different colours


  • Types of aggregate

    Types of Aggregate - What are the different types of aggregate and what concrete mixes each should be used for - Learn all about the types of aggregate and what different concrete mixes each should be used for and how each is classified


The word mortar comes from the Latin mortarium which was a basin in which the Romans mixed lime with sand and water. The mixture itself became known as mortar.

Using a pointing trowel to smarten up your brickwork by repointing is a good weekend job

Using a pointing trowel to smarten up your brickwork by repointing is a good weekend job

Today we do not use so much lime in our mortar mixes as cement has been introduced. Cement causes a chemical reaction with moisture which allows the mortar mix to go harder more quickly which suits the speed at which we put up building and walls today. The downside of this is that the quicker something dries out, the more brittle it becomes. Cement is also impervious to water to a degree. This is a good thing as it should stop damp penetrating the walls of your house, or the surfaces of your paths etc. However, as cement dries out so quickly it sometimes cracks the mortar it is in and this allows water ingress. When water gets into a crack it soon spreads round a wall or floor but because the rest of the cement is not cracked, it cannot get out again through natural evaporation.

Lime however, allows surface to breathe as it dries out very slowly and remains very flexible.

In the following pages we will show you how to lay bricks, how to point and repoing brickwork and blockwork and how o match the colour of your mortar by varying the quantity of sand used, with the cement and sometimes with a cement dye which is easily added. We also show you the correct amounts of each material to use when mixing mortar for each job you are likely to do. There is a different mix required when you are pointing a chimney stack to the one used when you are building foundation walls.

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