Mortar Joints Repair

This is uncomplicated, but it should be done carefully, using the appropriate tools and materials to avoid brick damage and totally compromise the wall’s integrity and appearance. That means choosing the proper hand tools and there are lime mortars like the ones they used 100 years ago. You can try asking a masonry contractor about maintenance, but you should also know about it.

No matter how beautiful the brickwork is, a mortar was used to seal it, so they are held together. Therefore, when mortar begins to crack, fall out, and recede out of the joints, it is time to take a chisel and get rid of the old stuff, then use a trowel to spread the new one which is a process known as repointing.

Repairing mortar joints

Tools: chisel, heavy hammer, garden hose, safety goggles, sharp trowel, jointer, scrub brush

Materials: mortar, coloring for mortar, corrugated cardboard with matching colors

Rake out bed joints

With a depth of about ¾ inches, scrape the horizontal joints. You can use a tipped grout saw, which works well on “butter joints” that are ¼ inch wide. If you are not trained to use motorized angle grinders, do not use them. There is a tendency that they will disfigure the brick if you make a mistake in using it.

Clean it

You can use a scrub for the joints in the brick, but that takes lot of time energy and time. You can opt to rent a pressure washer because this one works as a strong jet of water to clean the brickwork right away.

Wash the wall

Use a scrub brush to whisk away all the crumbly debris, and then check if the blade of the trowel can fit inside the joint. If the blade’s width is too much, use an abrasive wheel to grind it. Wet the wall using water until bricks are all damp and begin to drip. This is important because dry materials are going to suck the new mortar’s moisture and keep it from properly curing. You would have to wait for 1 more day before filling out the joints.

Purchase the mortar mix

This process is also called repointing and sometimes you can buy a mortar mix that is specifically for this type of work at a store selling masonry supplies. If you do not find it there, purchase the mix with the highest quality. You will not regret spending more to get the best type of materials. Of course, you want the replenished mortar joints to last, and that is not possible if the mortar mix is poor quality.

How to apply the mixture

The product should be mixed according to what is written on the instructions that came with the package. Take the grout bag and fill it with mortar because by using this bag, you will have better accuracy and lesser mess compared to a trowel. Then, insert the grout bag’s tip into the 1^st joint, while squeezing the mortar into the voids of the joint until everything is filled. Do not overfill the joint so that when you are going to strike the joint, the mortar is not unintendedly forced into the brick or block’s face.

Brush the wall

If you feel that the mortar is already dry enough to touch, brush with a diagonal stroke across the surface to get rid of any dry mortar crumbs. When you are done with this, use a sponge to remove any mortar residue off the bricks. In the next 3 days, use a tarp to cover it because the joints are still soft, and they need to be protected from the rain, wind, or sun. You also must mist the wall daily, so the moisture will be retained. There will be excess material that will drop away and others will need light scraping. If you need to scrape away the excess mortar, the jointing should be turned to its side before moving the tool from left to right. If you see a mortar on the face of the bricks, use the steel brush to remove the mortar before it is completely dry. Follow these steps to maintain the joints or call retaining wall contractors long island.

How To Dissolve Hair In Drain

As human beings and especially drain contractors we can agree upon one fact: we hate hair fall. Surprisingly, so do our drain pipes that have to bear with the residue every time we wash out hair (scary, right?).

As a result of the excessive hair inside the pipe, you might face the issue of your drain pipe clogging and not take water with speed, or take in the water at all! Instead of panicking and searching for a plumber there is a way for you to remove the hair quite easily from the clog without a drain contractor or harming the pipes. Here is how you can do so!

Wire Hanger

If you have a disposable wire hanger that you have no intention of deploying anywhere anymore, this may be the time to capitalize on it. Bend the wire hanger in the shape of a pirate hook, open the lid of the drain, and start pulling out as much of the blackish trash you see that seems to be annoying you.

This will help you clear most of the solid waste that is within the reach of your limited wire and will make it easy for you to carry on with the rest of the bathroom drain cleaning.

The Dream Duo: Baking Soda And Vinegar

This acidic formation can never be beaten as the universal home remedy for clearing up anything, and it is perfectly suitable in this case as well. What you can do is that after you are done fishing for the hair clogs you can simply pour a cup each of vinegar and baking soda gently down the drain and see the wonders it produces.

For bathroom drain cleaning purposes this combination is quite effective because:

You can use the bathroom almost immediately after the process;
There is no collateral damage involved.

Sealing

Bathroom drain cleaning is a proper mission because if not done properly the drain can simply get back into the obstructed position because it was never cleaned thoroughly in the first place! This is essentially why after the hooking and the chemical treatment, you have to act like a proper drain contractor and seal the hole of the drain with as much duct tape as you can.

The significance is that it allows the vapors of the rigorous reactions going on underneath to stay, and the gaseous vapors make way to warm up the insides, resulting in the dirt sliding down.

The Hot Water

Once you take off the seal after around 10-15 minutes, your drain is perfect for usage – except for one problem. There might be some really stubborn hair that still decided to stay inside, and you can tack it by invoking the vapors of acid on this hair by simply pouring a pan or two of steaming hot water.

This is the final step that you need to take to ensure that the clog is perfectly dealt with. And alas, your bathroom drain cleaning ny service will have become a success you can cherish for the rest of your days to come!

Paver Patio Contractor – Hiring the Best One is Easy with These Tips!

A stone patio constructed with hardscaping pavers offers low maintenance outdoor area. When implementing any patio design, even the smallest mistake can ruin hours of completing the project. Incorrectly installed patio may be a blight on a landscape as well as prone to drainage issues and uneven settling that might compromise the foundation of your home. That is the reason why it is crucial to pick a meticulous, expert contractor that would handle paver patio installation.

Traits of Reputable Paver Patio Contractor

Use the edging to keep pavers in place.
Top off foundation with layers of sand.
Fill in spaces between the pavers with joint sand for them to stay put.
Compact subsoil before laying base materials.
Compact every foundation layer.
Ensure that the patio has slight slope that’s about 1 inch for every 4 ft of patio for water drainage.

As you start the process of choosing a paver patio contractor, ask the right questions for you to ensure that your project will be a success. Not only these questions will help choose the best one, but also they will help you make first impression as savvy client with high expectation.

Are You Insured or Bonded?

A paver patio contractor must carry liability insurance and if it has some employees, he should have a worker’s compensation insurance. If he doesn’t have one, you might be responsible for paying the damages that the contractor could cause to your property. You should also not forget to ask for a proof of insurance.

Are You Licensed?

Majority of states require the professional contractors to have active licenses through the relevant board of contractors to do work. You may use a license check tool online to know if license is needed to install paver patio in your state or city.

How Can You Help Design the Right Space for Patio?

Proper designs that meet your long and short term needs are crucial to a successful project. See to it that you choose a contractor that would listen to your needs and give a plan that considers how you’re going to use the space.

Do You Provide Contract?

Professionals will not hesitate putting the scope of work in writing. If the company will not provide you more than its word or handshake, find a different contractor.

The most essential element to consider is how your paver patio contractor long island will ready the foundation as it can break or make the success of your patio. If it is prepared improperly, the patio might sprout weeds, sink or shift.

What are the important benefits of hiring a tree removal company?

Trees are considered as a treasure and an important requirement for healthy life. It can also be made use of for improving the landscape of a particular area. Trees growing bigger are considered as a wonderful thing. But if they grow beyond a certain limit, it can cause threats to the safety of the property. So it needs to be cut at this stage. The help of local tree removal companies will be required to remove such gigantic trees as well as its stumps.

All you need to know about tree removal

Removing a tree is not an easy task. A person who tries himself to remove a large fallen tree from his yard may end up with serious injuries. So it is essential to hire a certified and experienced tree removal company for this purpose. Some of the important advantages of calling certified tree removal companies are discussed below.

Bigger trees have lots of overgrown branches posing threat to the life and possessions of human beings as it can fall in hurricane etc. So hiring of professional becomes necessary for pruning the overgrown branches before it becomes very bulky. The possibility of falling down in storm, hurricane etc are thus avoided. In addition, the pruning tree services will try to see that the picturesque appearance of the tree is maintained and the threat to human life and properties is averted for some period of time.

When you engage some professional tree services for removing your overgrown or dangerous trees you can remain happy with peace of mind as the work has been entrusted to expert hands and they will carry out the task without causing any damages to the people as well as other properties near to the tree like automobiles, small sheds, pets in your house etc.

Tree removal

Professional companies engaged in tree removal services will be having experienced and trained workers with adequate knowledge. They will be having modern equipments used for different activities related to tree removing and tree stump removing.

Removal of tree is a quite cumbersome work which requires a lot of power and energy. When you try to do tree removal by yourself or with the help of unskilled workers, a lot of time, energy and power will be wasted before completing the task. But when professionals with experience are doing the work no wastage of time, energy and power takes place as they know how to proceed and complete the task in the most efficient manner.

If you try to do tree removal as a do it yourself activity, it can end up with injuries and you will have to spend extra money for buying the right equipment. As the equipment is not useful for further needs, the money you spend is wastage and the work becomes very costly .But if you can find a tree service and hand over tree removing task to them, they will be able to carry out it at a lesser rate. Cost effectiveness is another important factor which makes tree removal services attractive for removal of grown up or fallen trees.