DIY Doctor UK DIY Forums

Hi all,

Another Covid have-a-go hero here, new to the forum. Hoping i can be of some use in the acoustics & sound department, but today i'm coming to you for advice on brick and block.

The situation:

The previous landlords built a room in the roof. The walls are 1 party wall (brickwork) and 1 external (blockwork). Because these walls were build not to be seen they are roughly finished with gaps in the mortar and smeared snots all over the faces. We would like to tidy up the mortar and paint the block (we will leave the brickwork of course, we're London hipster idiots!)

Some of the mortar needs 'stripping back', some of it needs refilling. We are not too fussed about the look being perfect, but we would like it not to flake and gather muck as it does at the moment.

I am not against trying my hand at a bit of re-pointing if that is the consensus, but if i can get away with 'sanding back' (or whatever the equivalent is) and refilling small areas then I will do that. I have uploaded some pics.

What do you think? Just brush it down and paint over it, or get a bit more involved?

Thanks in advance

Hi dnjohnston,
You are never going to end up with a perfect wall so suggest you scrape back excess mortar to a reasonably flat surface and fill any major hollows with a mortar mix. Don't forget to wet the hollows before you fill them - a small pump up garden sprayer is ideal for this.
Regards S

stoneyboy wrote:Hi dnjohnston,
You are never going to end up with a perfect wall so suggest you scrape back excess mortar to a reasonably flat surface and fill any major hollows with a mortar mix. Don't forget to wet the hollows before you fill them - a small pump up garden sprayer is ideal for this.
Regards S

Thanks Stoneyboy! So just scrape it off with a trowel, brush down and then refill with any kind of shop-bought mortar mix? Would one type be suitable for both brick and block? I guess mortar is mortar in this case?

Thanks for the tip re:wetting down, i almost certainly would've forgotten this step!

One last thing - After re-filling, presumably i just need to bosh as much paint on as possible, i imagine the blocks will be quite thirsty? Again, i'm not after pristine, but any recommendations for paints to / not to use?

Thanks again

Hi dnjohnston,
Premixed stuff is too strong, buy some building sand yellow/orange and a small bag of cement, mix 5 of sand to 1 of cement and add water for a useable mix.
May be worth spraying the first primer coat on using your pump up sprayer. Use well watered down emulsion, spraying will get in all the nooks and crannies.
Regards S

Thanks Stoneyboy, that's my weekend sorted!