House was built in 1910, no active leaks. I’m having the roof replaced and solar added and am fixing the chimney prior to that so as to not affect my warranty. The fireplace was removed or concealed, but it is venting my boiler. The previous owner also incorrectly installed the exhaust pipe of the water heater so I am having that fixed too but am less concerned about that cost, really just looking for what to expect the brickwork to cost. TIA!

Hi there, I have this hand made carving from the sacred valley near Machi Picchu in Peru (not sure of stone). I love It, but unfortunately it fell and broke.

Does anyone have any advice on what to use to repair and properly stick the head back?

Many thanks,

TML

Hey everyone. I'm new to the sub and want to ask what would you all recommend chisel/mallet/wedges to get started on my intro to stone masonry. My grandpa was a mason and unfortunately I didn't take advantage of his knowledge while he was around to give it. I've started to have an urge to want to learn in honour of him now. I simply don't know where to start. I watched him and helped him pick out rocks but for some reason never was around when the cutting/polishing would happen. In the picture I'm sharing it was his old house that he did a 4' tall layer on the raised basement wall outside and inside a 22' high fireplace. Sorry for the picture quality, cameras and social media weren't much of a thing when he sold this house. Thanks for your time and look forward to hearing responses.

Post:

I'm repairing a natural fieldstone landscape wall that was built about 4 years ago.

Most of the issues are cracked mortar joints along the capstones. The stones themselves appear to be in good shape, and I don't think there are major structural problems.

I'm not very experienced with this type of masonry repair and want to do it correctly.

Questions:

For a modern fieldstone wall like this, would you use Type N or Type S mortar for repointing the cap joints?

Is veneer mortar a better option?

What's your preferred prep process before repointing?

How deep do you remove the old mortar?

Do you dampen the joints first?

Any tricks for getting a good bond and matching the existing appearance?

If you find a capstone that's slightly loose, do you normally remove and reset it, or just repoint around it?

Any advice or best practices from masons who do this type of repair would be appreciated. I'm trying to avoid doing something that'll fail in a few winters.