Good Reasons To Hire A Professional For Your Historic Home's Masonry Restoration
Many homeowners prefer to do many of home renovations on their own to save money. While this is a great idea and worthwhile most of the time, you should know that when it comes to masonry restoration, the experience you can get with a reputable professional is vital for the best results. Learn more about the best reasons to hire a masonry restoration expert for restoring the brick exterior of your older historic home.
Repairing Cracks
While bricks are strong and last a long time, they do eventually sustain damage from the elements, especially water. Bricks with cracks in them can cause dangerous weakness in your home's structural integrity, so having them repaired as soon as you notice cracks is important. Simply filling the cracks with a matching mortar is not enough to properly repair your home's brick siding. A professional will examine the cracks and will know if they are already impacting your home's structural strength. When you hire a masonry restoration expert, he or she will also locate the causes of the cracks in your home's brick exterior.
Repointing
Over time, the mortar holding the brick together on the exterior of your home deteriorates and will cause the bricks to loosen and become wobbly. Wobbly bricks can cause structural issues that can be extremely expensive to repair and will allow water to leak into your home. Repointing is a special technique that involves replacing the mortar between old bricks on your historic home's exterior. Having a professional repoint your bricks is important because he or she will know the best mortar to use for your home's particular type of bricks. If the wrong mortar is used, your home's siding can become even more damaged due to the expansion that takes place in mortar when the temperatures fluctuate. The new mortar used must also be compatible with the old mortar already between the brick on your home.
Sealants
Many homeowners are under the assumption that the mortar and bricks on their older home need to be sealed with specially formulated sealant after restoration is finished. However, never apply sealant to newly replaced mortar because it can trap moisture in the mortar and cause it to crack. Expert masonry artists can create a mortar bond that will never require sealant to resist the elements and remain strong for several years.
Restored bricks on your historic home can look beautiful, just as they might have looked the day they were laid many years ago. Taking the time to find a masonry restoration professional, such as those found at http://www.mararestoration.com, is worthwhile.