OT (very ) patching mortar?

On th planet of my origin, we chip the old mortar out and brush between the bricks with a wire brush to get rid of the crumbys and loose bits. Then slide a trowlful of fresh mortar sort of sideways like between the bricks to cram it in so far as you can. Then when you have the gap as full as you can get it, pack it down some more, either with one of those pointing tool things or something that will work akin to it. After the mortar is dry, pack in some more and make the seam pretty with the pointer thing. Like you would smoothing royal icing along the join of a gingerbread house with a popsicle stick. When everything is dry, scrub the bricks with a wire brush to get rid of the bits of mortar slopped over. Don't try and clean the brick while the mortar is still wet, for you will just drive it into the pores of the bricks and have teeny tiny grey dots for the next hundred years. Use gloves, mortar is full of lime and hard on the skin.

Clear as ..um..mortar?

NightMist Does most of the home repair stuff because DH is just sooooo bad at it.

Re-pointing. The mortar infil should have a slope on it to slough off the water.

If it was built in 1976 and has never been repointed, no wonder you are having trouble.

Check also that the barge boards and soffats (wooden panels between the wall tops and the roof) and the gutters are sound. Water can get in over the top of the wall if they are not.

Polly,

The problem is not with the outside; it's with the inside. Some holes in the mortar (known as "weep holes") are intentional, the purpose of which is to let water/moisture OUT in case any gets in there from any direction, and air IN to help dry up the moisture and prevent mold and rot. At the same time, there should be what's known as a "vapor barrier" between the paneling and the fiberglass insulation (the pink stuff). Often, the vapor barrier is a foil or paper material (known as "kraft paper"). In theory, the vapor barrier should be semi- permeable, allowing water vapor to pass through (but not water). However, in some cases, a more impervious solution may be required (like a polyethylene sheet).

If the paneling is going to need replacing anyway, that's the perfect opportunity/time to check for and treat any possible mold/mildew problem in there and upgrade the vapor barrier. However there should still be a way for some air to get in there to dry up any residual/ future moisture/miasma.

Some kind of hedge or shrubs planted along the outside of the wall should help reduce those driving rains from driving right through your wall. Or, putting up some other kind of barrier to stop the driving rain from hitting the wall - a fence/screen, trellis, ivy.... Might take some thought/imagination.

Weep holes in brick:

Vapor barriers Doc

-- Oh, the rain... THE RAIN...

Oh mercy, no. Taria! Holmes would gnaw his foot off if he could see this house. He is, however, right nice to look at, isn't he? Polly

"Taria" You need that hunky 'holmes on holmes' guy from

No adobe or stucco in So. Cal? They're both masonry.

Oh, yeah - that and a lot more. Pressure can be an awesome force. In materials testing, (I once worked in a materials test lab) they put different things in big machines that press, pull, twist, shear, and about any other kind of force you can imagine. Pieces/shards can go flying like bullets - some with the same potential effects. A common table saw can propel a piece of wood and embed it in a concrete block wall. Seen that too.

No adobe or stucco in So. Cal? They're both masonry.

Oh, yeah - that and a lot more. Pressure can be an awesome force. In materials testing, (I once worked in a materials test lab) they put different things in big machines that press, pull, twist, shear, and about any other kind of force you can imagine. Pieces/shards can go flying like bullets - some with the same potential effects. A common table saw can propel a piece of wood and embed it in a concrete block wall. Seen that too.

Your comment awoke a memory of our previous house-hunting excursions. Our hired inspector once told us that during the 1970s, lots of contractors experimented with "new improved" materials, which often didn't meet the test of time. His advice was to stay clear of any

1970s-era mass-produced house. Makes me w>You need that hunky 'holmes on holmes' guy from

That was generally things like aluminum wiring, urea formaldehyde foam insulation, and a few bizarre sheathing materials. Some of the mass- produced homes had a lot of formaldehyde-laden composition products. I don't think Polly's Palace falls into that category. Mortar has been pretty much the same for the past century or so, with exceptions that probably wouldn't apply here. I don't think there would be anything to be gained by analysis. If it needs repointing, have it repointed. If not, don't.

quoted text -

I am a coward. Actually, I'm an experienced coward. I don't want to endure replacing the paneling. I don't want to spend major time and $s repointing. We will just hope the house will hold together for our life expectancy - which probably isn't all that long. We'll get the gators to chew wads of bubble gum and cram in the leaky places. When we're gone, some entrepreneur will probably bulldoze the house and build a GatorWorld anyway. Polly

"Dr. Zachary Smith" Our hired inspector once told us that during the

1970s, lots of

That was generally things like aluminum wiring, urea formaldehyde foam insulation, and a few bizarre sheathing materials. Some of the mass- produced homes had a lot of formaldehyde-laden composition products. I don't think Polly's Palace falls into that category. Mortar has been pretty much the same for the past century or so, with exceptions that probably wouldn't apply here. I don't think there would be anything to be gained by analysis. If it needs repointing, have it repointed. If not, don't.

Polly dear, there are repairs you can skate around, and repairs you cannot. Weeping mortar is something you can ignore for years, as long as you are willing to completely rebuild the wall when it comes to the crisis point. Oh and maybe the floor, and the roof, and perhaps both adjacent walls. Water damage is not something to mess about with, living in a swamp that is something you know perfectly well. Besides, what if something icky starts growing on the other side of that paneling?

If you just want to add twenty years to the life of the wall, do as my landlord would do (and _that_ description should make you pause and think right there!) and glue that cheap vinyl siding up on the outside of it. That will keep water out and protect your crumbling mortar from further damage. I do not generally recommend hiding damage like that, but it is better than doing nothing and having bricks fall on your head next year. As water comes through the mortar it will erode it and the problem will become worse. If you cannot do a proper fix, at least do a temporary stopgap to stop it becoming an even bigger problem.

NightMist

OK, what is it that you want to accomplish? Let's tackle it from that angle.