No mason is complete without his or her toolbox. So, it’s important to have a firm understanding of the tools and techniques that are involved. A mason will typically use a wire brush, at least one chisel, patching compounds, brushes of different sizes, a raking tool, a jointing tool, concrete and caulk. With these and perhaps other tools, masons will often repair indoor or outdoor cracked bricks or exposed brick walls, repair walls suffering from excessive peeling, fortify masonry joints and so on.
Depending on the complexity of the job, the removal of efflorescence can take place as well. This is an important step of the masonry repair and is often best handled by experts as efflorescence is something that needs to be removed from any and all masonry surfaces before any replacement coating is applied.
This is because efflorescence is the result of moisture coming into contact with masonry surfaces. This moisture can cause further damage if it is not removed and is instead coated over, leaving it deeper in the brick or concrete.
Depending on whether the efflorescence is outdoor or indoor and depending on how much of it there is, the mason may choose to use a substance known as muriatic acid to remove it. It is a very corrosive and potent chemical and it should only ever be handled by certified experts who know their general masonry repairs inside and out.
Moisture is often a big problem in masonry repair for degrading masonry surfaces and is probably one of the reasons why your walls may be experiencing severe peeling. This is why getting general masonry repair done during hot and dry seasons, particularly the summertime, is ideal. That means less air and moisture will seep through during any repairs which results in a longer lifespan of your masonry materials. Foundation repairs that are needed can also be caused by some of these common issues.
Another masonry repair to consider is when it comes to cracks in walls, this is more likely the result of settling rather than moisture, but like moisture, it is something that tends to happen over time. It takes a professional mason to decide whether these walls should be given extra structural fortification before they receive their general repairs.