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mom319 · May 11, 2009, 05:29 PM

The brick on the face of my porch is crumbling. I need to replace it or cover it up with something . I need to do it on a strict budget. I'm out of work and my home owners insurance wants me to take care of it. The brick was fixed 13 years ago when I bought the house but it was winter and over time its crumbled.
As a female who isn't up on this kind of stuff does anyone have any suggestions.

ballengerb1 · May 11, 2009, 08:35 PM

Hey mom, I hear you. It could be that the old repair was not done with the right brick, they are not all the same. Ask a handyman to give you an estimate or call around and try to find the closest local mason union. Those guys may just take you in as an apprentises project, they are OK folks.

21boat · May 12, 2009, 09:14 AM

How old is the actual brick. If the brick itself is bad then patching it won't be a good fix. If its sagging pointing it up is a band aid.

If you are really stuck Post a pic and I can guide you through on relaying the brick. I'm an old Mason.

It's a bit late in the season but look up a high school Vo tech and see If they have any young kids in there masonry class that may be looking for summer work. I can guide him also. That's how I started in the masonry trades and into G.C. work. Trade schools another avenue also. (older Kids)

mom319 · May 12, 2009, 01:44 PM

I had someine look at it and they said when the porch was fixed years ago when I bought the house, they used sand stone brick. With hard winters in MI. it couldn't hold up. The original brick on the rest of the house is good.
I was told to take a section of bricks out at a time and replace them and then move on to the next area. I need about 150 bricks and they .68 each plus mortor. I was hoping I could have it filled in with cement block. Thanks for responding to my problem

ballengerb1 · May 12, 2009, 02:09 PM

You can block it with cement block but I think the look will be quite different than what you have now. I maybe dense but never heard of sandstone brick. The person who advised you, did he understand that you would be doing the work yourself?/ This sounds like you are in line for a total rebuild and those directions are a bit odd.

21boat · May 12, 2009, 04:51 PM

Just to add if it's a really old porch it may have sandstone blocks not bricks.

If its sandstone bricks then hold onto that it may be valuable. Never heard of it either. The main reason it's a quarried material and its not economical to make such small pieces in stone.
My towns has a lot of sandstone ( block) stoops and steps and blocks. We still have granite curbs.

Normally an old structural brick wall is 8" thick ( two rows ) if its used for a support.

Some of the old brick that are soft and crumbly in the wall are refereed to as salmon brick
If it's a total re build which it most likely will be brick will be easier to work with because of hitting diff heights under the porch and are a tad more forgiving. Brick is a better finish then block, of course block can be parged/stuccoed better to cover bad block laying

mom319 · May 13, 2009, 07:26 PM

Thanks, a handy man told me the brick was sand stone. I don't have a clue. I know its crumbling and if you smack it, it crumbles even more. The sellers had to fix the porch before I moved in 13yrs. Ago, they must have just did enough to get it passed. I called a place that sells house bricks, they have a off white smooth brick.
The bricks on my house are a smooth gray finish, 8 X 2.5. The house was built in the early 60s or late 50s. I'll try to get a picture of the porch.
You've been great, thanks

21boat · May 13, 2009, 07:49 PM

Pic would be perfect and also the dimensions of the material that you say is sandstone.

Just on a side note all brick started as house brick. Its when it comes to the brick paver's that it gets different in size only. Its still all brick. There is really no such thing as "house brick" in that clarification

mom319 · May 14, 2009, 01:27 PM

We got advice from a masonary when we got the new bricks. He said to do the corners first and also to support the slab. The bricks I bought are a better grade. The old bricks are called sand bricks, not sand stone. My mistake... Thanks for your help. I took pictures but I can't get them to load on my PC.

21boat · May 14, 2009, 03:50 PM

Try this to post pics.
Pictures by riscoe - Photobucket

You can, do a left click and "Copy Link location" and then do a paste in AMHD, but that just posts the link.

If you want to post the actual picture, it gets complicated.
You have to right click and "Save Image as". You then have the image on your computer.

If you have to resize use IrfanView - Official Homepage - one of the most popular viewers worldwide which is free.

Then go to "Go Advanced/manage attachments"

You can post pics using "Go Advanced/Manage attachments". You can resize using a free program: IrfanView - Official Homepage - one of the most popular viewers worldwide

IrfanView - Official Homepage - one of the most popular viewers worldwide