They set indoor slate on the outside of the steps and walkways. They used bar sand to set the slate tile on top of the concrete. They didn’t even have the thought to use some bonding agent against the concrete. If they did it probably wouldn’t of work because they didn’t clean off the original concrete steps to begin with. Bonding agents can only be applied after a proper cleaning has been accomplished. Even if they did everything I mentioned it was still doomed to fail. Slate is not the most porous stone, but if you have to use it at least mix up some cement and water paste. If you paste the backs of each stone then maybe you could get a decent bond.

But not to worry they didn’t use any anyway. At least they came off pretty easy. In the walkway they again used the existing concrete but wanted to extend it from three to four and an half feet wide. So instead of tamping down the earth and setting crushed stone. Then adding a four inch slab of concrete for the new slate walkway. They decided to just throw some dirt and debris on top of the earth and call it tight. They however, put down a little mortar on top of the debris to level things up.

I feel bad for these people, they just spent thousands of dollars for a walkway that looks terrible and is falling apart. Should of went to help with masonry .com and got some input. Look for an article on how some bozo used stacking block and natural stone together on a porch. John the mason out.

With the ribbon joint ,you have to first pack out the stone joint with your mix. When your going to cut a stone joint then a bar sand must be used. Don’t let anyone use any other sand to do ribbon joints. Using bar sand will allow the person to cut the joint properly as required, without the small pebbles that come in concrete sand.

Look at the existing stone joints and see if the stone joint comes out past the stone face or is recessed in towards the stone face. Either case, in stone pointing restoration your job is to match the original at all cost. After packing out the joint I’ll grab my one inch margin trowel and put a tight steel trowel finish on the joint. this gives  the stone joint a nice smooth finish.

 Each joint will vary in the size of the ribbon joint. Most ribbon joints are in the one inch wide range but will vary alot. Grab two razor blades and find a object that is one inch wide that you can hold in your hand. Tape the two blades on either side of the object so that razor part is flush with the object and even with one another.

If the stone joint is a level one then you’ll need a small two foot level to keep things straight. Some ribbon joints follow the contour of the stone. Either way, do what is original.  Grab your mortar cutter and level and lightly run the razors across the top of your level. Lightly make the two lines into the stone joints. Don’t go to deep into the joint or you’ll have a problem cutting. All your doing is making  lines to follow.  Use your margin trowel now to cut back away from the lines. The top line in the mortar joint will need you to scrape upwards, the bottom line you’ll scrape downward. Once you have both lines scraped you’ll reveal the nice straight Ribbon joint you just created.

This stone joint is by far the hardest one to learn but once you got it down you can do all of them. After the joint has dried ,please give the ribbon joint a light brush. Good luck from john the mason  and help with masonry.com

What to do? Cawley is on his way!!  We have to first get to the stone joint crack that is under ground. We will remove all nescessary earth to get to the stone crack. Clean the stone joints where the crack is ( no major debris in the joint) and mix a four to one mix of concrete sand and cement. Not to wet or dry. I like a sticky texture that will stick to my trowel but not too wet so it runs off the trowel. I also use concrete sand over bar sand because of it’s overall cured strength. Make sure you pack it out tight and don’t be afraid to go over the stone a little bit. The only time i’ll recommend going over a stone a little is when no one will see the stone joint or if it’s underground. Let the mortar joints dry and then apply a tar base waterproof agent to the areas. After the tar has become sticky enough to back fill then begin to back fill. Don’t throw all the earth back into the hole and then try and tamp it down. It won’t work, it may look good at first but the earth will settle down and you’ll be back to a reverse grade again. So with that said back fill your foundation in 4 to 6 inch layers. Throw some dirt, do some tamping. This way you’ll be sure to get good compaction in your trench. keep large stone or debris out of your hole. They can cause uneven compaction and cause voids under them.  When you get to the top of your grade, remember you have to add more earth for your proper slope away from the stone foundation. Don’t go to the store and buy top soil for regrading because top soil will absorb the water that falls on it and won’t be much help. If you have no other choice then try and mix it with some earth from around your property. I know this might not be possible but it will help. If you can get a truck then ask your local guy or gal about some compactable soil to be delivered. Good Luck and I hope this helps. John the stone mason

This particular job we used a yellowish cobblestone with a grey speckle look. The cobblestonerange slightly in size 9×5 and 10×5. When using cobblestone for your boarders try and get the same thickness in the cobblestone. They will line up alot better and look more professional.

This job we started out by removing 10″ down of earth7″ wide  and tamping the soil down as tight as possible. If you have a gas powered tamper than use it or if you can rent one I suggest you do. If that’s not possible then you must use a hand tamper and slam the tamper straight down onto the earth. Once you have the earth tamped then add your concrete base. Add at least 4″ of 3500psi concreteto your trench and let sit. Make sure when your pouring your concrete base that your pouring the concrete level. You can drive a stake at one end of the boarder and one stake at the other end. String a line up one end and put a line level on the string and that will tell you if your string is level.

  Hint: You have to make sure the string is pulled tight or you won’t get an good reading on the level. The string height must be the height of your concrete. Now you can pour your concrete nice and level. Let the concrete harden over night and in the morning your ready to set your cobblestone.

You’ll need three parts concrete sand and concrete sand only to set your cobblestone. Use one part type I cement and three parts concrete sand. Mix dry first and then wet. Make sure not to add too much water it will ruin our setting bed. I even like to add a slurry coat of cement and water mixed to a pastie texture. I will dip the bottom of my cobblestone into the slurry right before I’m going to set the cobblestone. Once set in the wet bed of sand and cementand the bottom slurried. Your cobblestone are set so well that it can withstand the occasional car bumping into them. If the job calls for it, we will point the joints between each cobblestone. Sometimes I’ll point the stone flush or do a concave design. Either way it helps to hold each stone. If I need for water to flow through the stone then we will lay them as tight as possible to one another.

Cobblestone boarders are great around landscaping areas. Cobblestone can be used flush with other materails or be raised above surrounding materials such as flower beds or patio’s.

 The only time I won’t use a cobblestone is when clients ask about building a wall out of cobblestone. I find that cobblestone are not great stacking stone and don’t bond as well as I would like when stacked. I’ve seen mortar joints fail sooner than they should be when people use them to build walls.

If you use the cobblestone for a area that has to absorb water then set the cobblestone in a dry manner. See the page How to set a patio it will give you different bases you can use. Hope this helps Johnny Mason

 We have a awesome brick enbankment with great brick coping. We have two concrete pools with a mini bowl. There is probably too much to mention so I’ll get some video for everyone to see. Let the first article I write be about masonry and helping one another. Because it’s really not that hard. Signing out Johnny Mason

Brick repointing Scale of difficulty 4 trowels (need image of 4 trowels here)
Most issue that comes across my table in regards to brick work is that the mortar joints eventually need to be repointed. Some mortar joints in original work could date back hundreds of years and still be in good shape. Some when not install properly could only last a few years. When it comes to brick repointing a qualified mason should be handling a larger job but a few mortar joints shouldn’t scare anyone away.

If you’re going to repair a cracked joint that maybe is allowing water into your property, then that joint will need to come out, at least 3/4 to 1 inch deep. If any unqualified mason tries to sell you on going right over the original joint, stop them in their tracks and send them on their way. It will be cheaper, but a good mason will be back to fix them once they’ve fallen out in two years.

The way I suggest you take those damaged joints out is with your brick hammer. Using the flat long end; chip away at only the mortar joint. Once you’ve broken the joint out you’ll need to clean out the joint with a nice soft brush. Even if you have to blow out the dust yourself, it’s got to be done. A clean mortar joint is a must for a good mortar bond.
Grab your trowel and it’s time to repoint. What’s my mix for my mortar you ask? Old school masons like myself, will be using three parts sand, one part type I cement. Check with your local supply house and I’m sure they have a premix mortar mix. Some supply houses will call the mix, “mortar mix”. These mixes will only require you to add water, but please only add a little at time. When the texture of the mortar is squeezable and you can shape it like a ball, then you’re ready. Using your mason’s trowel, lay some mortar on your trowel and flatten it out. Using your small slicker, then push the flat mortar off the trowel and right into the joint. If you’re right handed, you should be starting on the right side of the mortar joint. Each time you fill that joint, starting from your right, will bring the mortar into the last one you applied. This will pack each swipe of mortar into the other, making a tight bond.

Depending on what the original joint looks like, I would bring out the joint to just slightly below the brick face. (Just a 1/16) Keeping the joint back slightly from the face will prevent a mess “Plan and Simple”. Grab your soft tail brush and lightly brush your joints.

There are a few common types of joints that should be identified here. There’s the flush joint; the rake out joint and the concave joint. The first two speak for themselves. The other is a concave joint. The concave joint looks slightly rounded. My favorite joint, if anyone cares. This joint will require a rounded slicker call a joiner but a rounded piece of wood that you’ll run down the center of the joint right after you’ve installed it should do the trick. Make sure your rounded wood is close in size to the joint size. Don’t wait till it dries or you won’t get a nice concave look to the joint because it has already tighten up and it’s too late. The wood trick is your installment of tricks of the trade. Good luck pointer!!!

Brick restoration 3 trowels
Have you noticed brick dust at the base of a wall? Maybe even some chunks of brick have come down. Does the brick look like it might have lost its face? If you have noticed any of this, then you’ll probably need to replace or restore those brick. Not doing so in a timely fashion is only going to cause more damage and cause you to pay for a qualified mason.

Help with Masonry.com is here and not to worry. The best thing we can do in this situation is to remove the brick altogether and replace with a matching one. That will require you to first find a matching brick.
Most often a masonry supply house will have something close enough to make you happy. Some brick are often not made anymore and only used brick dealers will have your hard to find brick. (If you’re in the Philadelphia area, I can help) Remove the brick with your heavy hammer, chisel and go to town. Try not whacking the brick next to you that doesn’t need to come out. Use your chisel with the safety guard at the handle. All debris must come out any dust must be blown out. Grab your mortar mix and lightly wet the mix. Trowel in the mortar so that it’s slightly higher then the original mortar joint. Place your brick in the space and push down on the brick Keep the brick straight and at the same height as the brick next to yours. If you need to point the joint then grab your slicker and pack in some more mortar and lightly brush the joints.

Now of course, if you have numerous amount of damage this would be a time to call in a professional. If it’s only a few, then go for it!!!!!!

There are also times when you’re trying to do the job your self and it maybe a little too high up on the ladder for your comfort level. Taking out brick off a ladder is not recommended on this site. So what to do? Grab some yellow bar sand and type I cement. Your ratio will be three parts sand to two parts cement. Mix this together dry for about five minutes in a wheel barrow or five gallon bucket. The next step would be to add mortar dye that you’ll get at the local supply house. If you’re doing only one brick your probably only need a cap full of dye. Mix the dye directly into the dry mix of sand and cement. Mix again for five minutes and make sure the dye is not lumped up in one area. Add your water slowly and make the texture so that it’s spread able. You’ll need your Mortar hawk and margin trowel. Please be careful when climbing the ladder with the hawk in your hand. Flatten out the mortar on the hawk and apply to the cleaned surface of the damaged brick. Don’t pack on too much at first because you don’t want to go pasted the face of the surrounding brick. Add a little at a time until your right at the face. Try and not pack the colored mortar over the existing mortar joint that will probably need to be repointed. After the dye is nice and flush with the surrounding brick then grab your slicker and point the top and bottom joint around the dyed mortar. Keep everything nice and straight and I’m sure it will be fine. Light brush if necessary to smooth out edges.

There are three main types of stone pointing. The most popular type of stone pointing is the flush joint. This joint will come to the face of the stone and most likely be brushed. The next is a weather joint; a more difficult joint but a great one. This joint will often come past the face of the stone and then be cut on one side of the joint and at the top of the stone. The final joint is the labor intensive ribbon joint. The ribbon joint comes past the stone and each joint has two cuts that will need to be scrapped back to achieve the ribbon look.

If your ribbon joint project requires more than a handful of joints to be restored, now might be the time to call in an expert. If your not up for this project than proceed to the Questions to ask a masonry contractor page. This will help!!
Let’s get started with the stone pointing restoration lesson. If the stone joint is not already lying on the ground then you’ll probably need to remove the cracked joint. Grab your small hand held 4lb hammer and one inch chisel along with your safety glasses. Remove the damaged stone joint back two inches from the face of the stone and clean out the joint. Cleaning the joints out is key to a great bond with the new mortar and the original mortar. If you have a leaf blower and the work is at a safe height, then blow out the stone joints. I once even got a shop vac and sucked out the joints. Now that’s a clean joint!

Please don’t wet the joints because it actually takes away from the natural absorption of new mortar into original mortar. Pulling the moisture from the new mortar into the original mortar the original mortar is completing the bonding. Sorry to get to crazy there!
Stone pointing is going to require stone pointing mortar. First take a look at the color were going to try and match. Some colors may be out of your reach in simply mixing of sand and cement Masonry supply houses or big box store should carry dye that you can mix into your sand and cement. Later on that!! Most stone joints will be a four to one mix. Four parts sand one part cement. It will depend on the joint you’re trying to match as to what sand to purchase. Any joint that will require you to slice the mortar to achieve an edge will have to go with a bar sand. GOOD Tip!! If your joint is a flush joint then go with concrete sand but it will depend on what you’re trying to match. My opinion is that the courser the sand then the better bond you’ll have.

Get your mixing bucket or wheel barrow to mix your mud. (Mason Term for mortar) If you’re repointing only a small amount then better to grab a tin can for dividing your four to one mix. Add your four parts sand first, and then spread your cement evenly over the sand. Grab your mixing hoe or mason’s trowel “again depending on the amount mixing” and dry mix the sand and cement. You should mix the two until it becomes one color and then give it another quick mix. Slowly add your water and mix the mud together. Your mix should not be too wet or too dry. Adding the right amount of water is so important to a good pointing job. To wet and the mortar will run off your mortar hawk or trowel. To dry and the moisture needed to be absorbed by the original mortar won’t be there and your bond won’t be good. If you can hold the mortar in your hand and squeeze it and it stays together then add a little more water. I like my mortar on the wet side because it gives me a little more time to manipulate the mud around each stone. When the mortar is to dry then it’s a hassle trying to get it off your hawk. A little wetter mud will stick to the hawk better and when you angle the hawk towards the sky, it’s so much easier to cut and swipe the mortar off. (Check out the hawk video lesson before starting)

Let’s begin with your starting point: Your starting point will depend on what hand your going to use your margin trowel. Right-handed people will start on the right side of their bodies and joint. Using your margin trowel or slicker, flatten out your mud on the hawk. I would start out with a half inch thickness of mud on the hawk. Try and cut straight down on the mud and angle the hawk back. After you cut the mud then swipe forward and upward, hopefully the mud will be on your trowel. Bring it right over to the joint and push into the joint. Trowel the mud in tight and start over. With the next pass go right next to your last pass. Being right-handed each pass with the mud you’ll be troweling into the last mud you applied, thus packing one swipe into the next. Good Tip

Look at the surrounding stone joints first and see where the original mortar was set. Since we are learning about the flush joint then you’ll need to pack out the mortar to the face of the stone. Once you’ve packed out the mortar to the face then give it five minutes and lightly brush the joint. What I like to do is get my slicker or margin trowel and clean the mortar around the perimeter of the stone I just pointed. This light cut will expose the edges of the stone and looks awesome. Don’t forget that were trying to match the original joist and in some cases each method will be a little different. If there is a clean up issue or you got a little mortar on the stone? Remember that mortar joints can be cleaned but it does take a little chemical solution to clean it off. So if the jobs too big now would be the time to call in a stone Mason who specializes in stone pointing.

If you’re feeling a little adventurous now and what to tackle the famous weather joint then grab your hawk, margin trowel and let’s get this party started. (Remember bar sand only for cutting mortar) It’s really not that much different then the flush joint but you have to add a little more mortar to the joint and cut the lower part of every joint you applied. After the mortar is applied take your margin trowel and a straight edge that’s easy to hold. Place the straight edge piece against the mortar joint and cut along the straight edge. Some joints you’ll need to angle the cut and others you can go straight. Don’t cut down too deep or you’ll separate the joint and the original joint. Cut into the joint approximately a half inch or less. Once you’ve cut what you pointed then wait a few minutes and then the interesting part comes. You’ll need steady hands to scrape back at the line you just cut. Again you can scrape on an angle or straight back, what you should see is the lower portion of the joint is missing. If you see the original mortar then you’ve scraped too far back. Depending on the look of the joint you can brush the joint or leave it alone. When you have a vertical joint, in comparison to a horizontal joint that we spoke of in this lesson. Vertical joints will be cut on the left side of the stone face only.

With regards to the ribbon joint, you will want to cut both sides of the straight edge and then scrape off both sides of the joint. This joint is very difficult to achieve the first time but it’s your property and maybe you give it a try.