LESLIE: Next up, we have Larry from Texas who’s thinking of refacing his home.
Larry, what are you doing?
LARRY: Oh, just sitting around. (Larry chuckles)
LESLIE: (chuckles) Excellent.
TOM: Not now, Larry. (chuckles) What are you thinking about doing to your house?
LARRY: Well, I have several – well, about 50 bricks on my house that’s about 30 years old and that’s starting to face pop; some of them are.
TOM: OK.
LARRY: And what I need to do is find the easiest way to cut that old mortar out and get the old brick out – and I have new brick that’s not exactly the same but they’ll work – and how to get that – the easiest way to get the mortar back in there.
TOM: Well, that’s a tough one. I’ll tell you, there’s a lot of work here. But what you could use is a masonry saw. You can get a masonry blade and put it on your circular saw and do some plunge cuts in there and try to cut out some of that mortar but you’re going to have to do a lot of hand work here. You’re going to end up chiseling out around that after you get as much as you can out with a masonry saw.
LARRY: OK.
TOM: And then once you get that out there, then you can set the new bricks in. But remember, you’re going to – you know, you’re going to have to do a lot of pointing up here around here and no matter how close you think the color is now, you’re going to see some differences; especially with the new mortar.
LARRY: Right, right. Yeah, and what’s the easiest – is it just that tool? You just have to push the mortar in it or is there something else you could – some easier way to get the mortar in?
TOM: To replace the – no, you have to use a pointing tool. You basically set the brick in and then use a pointing tool to press the mortar in and strike the joints so it looks like it matches everything else.
LARRY: OK. So it’s nothing real simple. (chuckles)
TOM: Well, it is simple. It looks simple but when you do it, you’re going to have to kind of develop a bit of technique there. OK, Larry?
LARRY: Right. Yeah, I have a patio – you know, bricks going around my patio – and I got some of those out and I started putting them in and of course I had to just push that old mortar in. I said, “Surely there’s an easier way to do it,” but evidently there’s not.
TOM: (chuckles) Yeah. Well, you know, it’s easy if you do everyday but when you do it once in a while, it is a bit of a challenge.
LARRY: I’ve watched some of these brick guys and they just make it look so simple.
TOM: They could do it in their sleep.
LARRY: Exactly, exactly.
TOM: Well, that’s why they’re the pros.
LARRY: Yeah, right. But yeah, I had – I guess it was this past Saturday I had picked up your – you know, just flipped on the radio on KFYO and found your show and that’s the first time I’ve seen it. Is it new to Lubbock or something?
TOM: Well, we’ve been around for about eight years but we are constantly picking up new stations and, yes, we are new to Lubbock, Texas and we are so appreciative to have us there and we’re glad you’re enjoying the show.
LARRY: Thank you. Really be helpful to a lot of people.
TOM: Alright. Well thanks, Larry.
LARRY: OK, thank you.
TOM: Thanks so much for calling us at 1-888-MONEY-PIT.
Leave a Reply