How to remove this brick?

ChasingtheWelshdream

I am repointing an area with lime (previously pointed with with cement), and turning any badly spalled bricks around as I go.

Usually, the bricks have been easy to remove with just scraping all the mortar out and lots of wiggling, but this corner one is not budging so far.

Being the corner, I’m unsure whether to use any force in it, if there is a better technique, or if I should just ignore this one? I don’t really want to dislodge the one above if I can help it, as that tends to loosen the plinth bricks.

Any suggestions, or should I just leave this one alone? The bricks are being repainted, so I did wonder about simply ‘making good’ the shape with lime mortar, but it would need to be rather thick.

Ebe_Scrooge

Is that brick the bottom course, or is there another course below it?  If you scrape away the gravel you should be able to see, and you may be able to dig out the mortar from underneath it.

If you have a spare brick available to replace it, you could use brute force - drill lots of holes in it then chip it out with a hammer and chisel.

But if you're going to be painting over them anyway, I think it would be simpler to just "repair" it with mortar.  You'll need to do it in several layers, adding a reasonably thin layer at a time and letting it dry before building up more layers.

ChasingtheWelshdream

Thanks, it is the bottom visible brick, below are (hopefully!) foundations.  There was previously a patio abutting the wall  and below the gravel is a solid slab of concrete. I can get to the mortar but digging any further down is not really an option.

I only have one spare brick, which is earmarked already so can’t afford to damage it.

I have yet to turn the adjacent brick, which might loosen it a bit, otherwise I think I may just ‘repair’ it as best I can. I did that on a few last year and they seem to have survived the winter, but they were not as damaged and only needed a thin layer to look ok.

One question. A couple of bricks looked OK, but as soon as I started to chip out the cement, the ‘faces’ came away - the cement and paint must have been holding them together! They almost look like brick slips. Would it work to ‘stick’ one of these on with mortar?

Ebe_Scrooge

ChasingtheWelshdream said:

One question. A couple of bricks looked OK, but as soon as I started to chip out the cement, the ‘faces’ came away - the cement and paint must have been holding them together! They almost look like brick slips. Would it work to ‘stick’ one of these on with mortar?

Oooh, good question!  The short answer is, I have no idea - I ain't no professional bricklayer :-)  I guess it could work, but whether it would survive a few hard frosts, I don't know.  I'm wondering whether a decent epoxy glue might be better - Araldite or similar ????  Dunno, just pondering, really.  Hopefully someone with a bit more expert knowledge might be along to offer their thoughts as well.

stuart45

As a bricklayer I would probably be expected to cut out any defective bricks and anything that came away above would just get re-laid. It wouldn't matter about matching the bricks if they are painted. 
However, if you would rather leave the brick in, it might be difficult to cut it enough to fix a brick slip to. In a situation like this I'd put some mortar on the brick and use a few broken bits of brick in the mortar to add a bit of strength to it. If you have any SBR you can stick some in the mix to help it bond better. Once you have it filled you can float the face and stick some fake joints in. Once painted it won't show. You might be better using cement mortar for the brick repair.

ChasingtheWelshdream

Thanks.

Yes, it would be better to replace it but I’’ unable to easily get a replacement locally. I will have another go at it tomorrow and see where I get.

I do have cement/sand if that would be better to repair it, but would it be likely to make the rest of the brick spall over time?

Ectophile

Given the state of the brickwork above it, it may be easiest to dismantle everything around it, then re-mortar everything properly as you put it all back together.

ChasingtheWelshdream

The other corner was pretty much dismantled, but those bricks came out easily. This one is just being stubborn 

Apodemus

If you are going to fill the void with mortar, I'd stick with the lime, but instead of building up layers, I'd imbed some smaller stones into the mortar, then smooth over the surface.

JohnB47

On the subject of removing the bricks, etc, I tend to use a drill with a mortar bit fitted, sometimes a very long one. That wil remove the pointing without too much damage above and below. Less damage done than using a hammer and chisel.

ChasingtheWelshdream

Thank you, I will look at my local Tool Station, I haven’t got a mortar bit.

I haven’t really had to chisel much out so far so haven’t had a huge amount of damage. I’m finding a couple of sharp taps through a blunt screwdriver is enough to puncture the cement pointing, which then just prises out, exposing the soft lime behind which scrapes away easily.

Until I reached this corner that is….