How best to repair/cement this blown brick on a corner

MrCheeseman

I've got a blown brick on the corner of my house - see the pics - so replacing it isn't an option. I've got cement and sand, but how do I go about it? I gather I'm supposed to basically smooth over it, till the whole area is a flat, smooth surface, but how do I do that given it's uneven?

Will I have to make several passes, building it up each time? How long do I leave between each layer or is there another approach? Advice would be appreciated.

stuart45

If I was doing he job myself I'd replace the brick as it's doable. However if you want to just repair it, you probably will find it easier with 2 coats of sand/cement. Use a pointing trowel and do the second one the next day. If you want a smooth finish use a wooden float, or a block of wood to rub it with. You can also use a sponge.

Doing invisible repairs involves matching the brick colour and texture, cutting out where the joints would be and matching the joints colour and style.

WIAWSNB

Your house won't fall down if you remove these bricks, so if you can get equivalents, that would be the easiest way to go.

A drill should quickly remove the mortar around it.

MrCheeseman

Thanks - I'd tried getting equivalents, before I looked into how to actually do it, but drew a blank. This is a 1960s house and while I've checked eBay for old bricks, nothing's quite matched.

stuart45

The place to look is the brick library on Brickhunter. Put colour buff and heavy texture facing in the filters.

Eldi_Dos

Would it not be possible to remove brick, turn it round so that what is at the moment the inside face becomes the external face,and then repoint ?

bjorn_toby_wilde

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81953705#Comment_81953705

I thought that but those bricks are very rough faced. I doubt you’d get the mortar off the inside face cleanly.

OP have you looked at Ibstock buff rustic bricks? My house is 60’s and is built with Red Ibstocks. They look very like the right texture to me.

FreeBear

1960s build - The brick is likely to be an imperial sized one. Modern metric bricks are going to a around 5mm smaller. If you are worried about getting an exact match, pay a visit to a local building reclamation yard. Failing that, there are a few suppliers of imperial bricks out there. You might get one to send you a single brick as a sample (won't be particularly cheap though).

https://www.jmedler.co.uk/

https://www.imperialbricks.co.uk/

Travis Perkins and Jewsons can also supply imperial bricks, but not all branches will have stock, and quality can be hit & miss - Had some from Jewsons a while back and had to reject every single one due to damage.

WIAWSNB

FreeBear! Where you been?! :-)

FreeBear

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81959028#Comment_81959028

Hiding from BendyHouse 😎

Albermarle

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81959028#Comment_81959028

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81959028#Comment_81959028

See page 2 of this thread.

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