Poor Mortar installation

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GSForester

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Just wondering if anyone has any suggestions besides the painstakingly obvious. We are the second owners of a manufactured home and it is quite evident that they installed the brick during cold weather. The motor surface is flaking off and underneath that the mortar can be rubbed out with your bare finger. I really don't want remove 3/4 inch of mortar and re-point the house. Wondering if there are any products out there that i could apply to the motor to harden/ seal it.
 
Exactly where is the brick located? I've never heard of a manufactured home having real brick on the exterior, as there'd be a tendency for things to work loose and bounce off as the home is being hauled down the road at 60 mph. Could you take a few pix and post them?

Offhand, I can't think of any product that does what you're hoping for, with one possible exception. While serving my 25-year sentence with a state DOT, I supervised the application of hundreds of gallons of a 2- or 3-component liquid called high molecular weight methyl methacrylate, but only on flat (horizontal) concrete surfaces. The stuff is very low viscosity, enabling it to seep into cracks as small as 0.003" wide, but quickly sets up to form a hard and durable surface. You won't like the price (we were paying $65 a gallon in 500-gallon lots, 15 years ago), and I suspect smaller-sized kits might not be available. Also, its tendency to run down and off before sinking into your mortar could present problems.

If no other specific answers show up here, I'd suggest you contact some of the larger construction specialty supply places, such as Sika, Master Builders, Watson-Bowman, etc. (they all have technical service 800 numbers, and I think, "residential" divisions), and explain your situation. Sika made the HMWMM product we used the most of, and called it Sika Pronto 19.
 
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Hey Bridgeman
I guess it kind of goes without saying that the house was bricked after it was delivered and set on the foundation. By brick i should have specified that it is actually a shouldice stone product. I have been told that the poor installation is not covered under the Tarion warranty because it is not a structural issue. Guess i am going to have to grind out all the joints and re-point. Its very frustrating because the home manufacturer will not do a thing even though they call themselves "QUALITY HOMES"....Guess they arent lying cause they never said good quality....LOL
 
You mentioned that you can rub the mortar out with your finger? If this is true, I would be inclined to guess that there was too much sand and not enough masonry cement in the mix. I've found that the pre bagged mixes do not have enough cement in them and when forced to use them I always add a shovel of Type N to the mix.
 
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