oldognewtrick

What product are you liking to seal the mortar in brick, especially chimneys. Being a roofing contractor we get a lot of calls for leaks that are the result of water soaking in through sandy mortar joints and leaking inside the house. We have been using Siloxane to seal the chimney chase above the roof deck, but I wonder if there might be a better product available. A better solution would be through wall flashing, but it seems not many people know how or will take the time to install through wall.

Superpack

The water appears to be coming from the masonry itself and the fact that the entire chimney base and roof around the chimney (no flashing in my case) was carefully sealed with quality roofing cement and fabric below to make stronger it further, makes me think it is the chimney itself.

Best Regards,

itsreallyconc

sandy mortar means its time to repoint,,, n-bor across the st had the same trouble & blamed her roofer 'cause of wtr inside the living room's fireplace,,, the problem was sandy mortar - we repointed & it was solved,,, sealed w/prosoco's ( no financial interest - the supplier's just the closest to us ) silicone siloxane a month later.

you already know about the flashing stuff & retro-fitting is expensive,,, we still use sheet lead & plugs - NEVER caulk/roofing cement/silicone sealant.

ps - old bricks hate modern mortars as you probably also know

oldognewtrick

Well, we are seeing this on new construction houses. I've been told it's because the ratio of sand to cement, allows to set more brick but makes for a sandy mortar joint allowing water absorption. Who gets the water leak call? Not the guy who layed the brick....Siloxane seems to work O.K. just seeing if theres anything better.

1445TECB

Hi, I have a project,two porches front and back, front Has a concrete slab on top,what would be the best way to left the slab off so I can start redoing the five courses of brick that is supported by the brick and block, the steps has to be reset as well,

itsreallyconc

' left ' ? ? ? or ' LIFT ' ? ? ?

not sure i understand why anyone would wanna lift off a slab just to repoint but i'm originally from n y