Do you like the look of stone masonry? The use of stone for homes or buildings is a timeless choice. It exudes the permanence, luxury, and strength of a castle or an ancient building, and sometimes the charm and old-world quality of those buildings as well.

One element of stonework, such as a chimney or fireplace, in or on your home, can transform a new structure and give it instant character. And if you use it properly, natural stone can help to heat your home, as it retains heat from the sun or fire.

Modern style stone applications add an upscale appeal to new structures, even if you only add a little bit. The natural, earthy feel of a stone facade on your home’s exterior can complement regular siding very nicely.

Get Your Stone Straight

Maybe you like stone, but you are not sure how to articulate what you want. Or perhaps you have gotten mock-ups from your contractor that just don’t fit the picture in your mind.

That’s because natural stone masonry includes more detail than you thought. Not only are there two main types of natural stone masonry, but each of those types has several subtypes.

Rubble Masonry Vs. Ashlar Masonry

You guessed it; these are the names of the two broad categories of stone masonry. You can remember them this way:

Rubble masonry looks more like rubble and ashlar does not. Common to most rubble masonry is wider joints with more mortar to accommodate the uneven shapes.

Ashlar masonry uses thin joints and smooth sides with regular shapes that can be laid like bricks. However, there are some interesting variations within the following categories.

Rubble Masonry Subtypes and Common Usages

Dry Rubble Masonry

Have you ever heard the term “good fences make good neighbors?” This saying was based on, believe it or not, the most rudimentary style of masonry there is. You can still find this style in pastoral England in the form of fieldstone fences. Farmers used what was available – in this case, the glacial stones in their pastures – to make sheep fences.

Dry rubble masonry falls apart year after year, and neighboring farmers work together to rebuild them year after year. But we don’t recommend this style of building for any other application!

Random Rubble Masonry

You could say random rubble masonry is one step up from dry rubble masonry in that it uses mortar, and it requires a similar level of skill.

The pattern looks random, in that it uses completely undressed stone or “wild” stone. However, the craft that goes into it is crucial.

Masons using this method want to avoid a large vertical joint and distribute the pressure evenly across the horizontal axis. The shapes and sizes of each stone must be carefully thought out and chosen. You might see this type of masonry used on a rustic stone cottage or chimney.

Square Rubble Masonry

Stones are roughly hewn into squares with a hammer or chisel dressing. They can be coursed – a masonry term for lining up horizontal joints evenly through the structure – or uncoursed.

Coursed square rubble masonry is more common. You will see this type of masonry used most prominently on public buildings like government buildings, schools, and hospitals.

Polygonal Rubble Masonry

If you shape your stone into irregular, multi-faceted shapes with straight sides, this is polygonal rubble masonry. It has a more irregular look but can boast a stronger tensile strength because of the natural elements of the arch. These types of walls are found in ancient Incan and Mayan buildings.

Ashlar Masonry Subtypes

Rough Tooled

Ashlar rough tooled stones are chisel dressed, so they are smooth on the bed and sides. The fronts are roughened with tools to make a coarse surface on the front but uniformity of size and shape.

Rock-faced

Another way to create a rough appearance with the strength of uniformity is by using a rock-faced cut. It’s also called quarry-faced because the stones are left with faces as they were when quarried, except for a chiseled strip around the perimeter of each stone.

Chamfered

This type of stone is one degree more finished than the first two. Each stone has, instead of a roughly chiseled strip around the perimeter, a smooth angle. It makes each stone more dimensional.

Fine Tooled

Although this method can yield some of the most beautiful results, it has fallen out of use because of the expense. In this method, each stone is entirely uniformly cut and laid. Manufactured stone has replaced this method in many cases.

Bringing it Home

Stone masonry is a broad term. With the knowledge of the primary categories and subtypes, you will be able to make an informed decision.

Would you like more information or do you need masonry repair? Renovations Roofing & Remodeling, Inc. provides masonry services and repairs to Southeast Michigan. Please give us a call. We would happy to help!

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Is your home’s brick exterior outdated, dingy, or old? Are you looking for a new look for your home but not sure if you should paint your brick exterior?

We have covered the pros and cons of painting your home’s brick exterior. However, professional masons may discourage you from painting your bricks because they need to breathe, and it’s very difficult – if not impossible – to go back to bare bricks after you paint them.

If your brick exterior needs an update, your options are limited, and many people will go for a new paint job.

Options Other Than Paint

Did you know there are several options for brick siding other than paint?

Mortar wash, also known as German smear, limewash, and whitewash, are all techniques that produce similar effects on a brick exterior.

There are some significant differences. They aren’t all the same material, and they don’t have identical properties.

Today, we will take a look at the German smear technique.

Mortar Wash of German Smear

Mortar wash or German smear is a way of antiquing your brick siding with mortar.

The good news is that it is very cheap and it’s DIY friendly. Also, unlike any of the other options, including paint, it’s permanent. This is a good thing since German smear is also very labor-intensive.

Once you apply a mortar wash to your house, you would have to use muriatic acid to get it off. So, for all intents and purposes, this is permanent.

The Look of German Smear

If you have ever watched the popular HGTV show “Fixer Upper,” you may have seen one or two of the homes transformed by German smear.

This technique is notable for adding an old-world or antique masonry look to your house.

It also lightens the exterior color since the mortar generally comes in white or grey. The large patches of white mortar mimic the irregular joints of an ancient masonry wall.

German smear softens the straight lines of a brick pattern, and it adds a rough texture on top of the bricks, giving your home an entirely new surface.

Since you add a mortar wash by hand, the new texture will have an organic feel to it, just like the bricks in an antique wall.

Basic How-To

Mortar, which is a blend of Portland cement, lime, sand, and water, adheres very well to bricks and other block building material since it’s made for that purpose.

You can buy it pre-mixed, which is ideal as the ratios can be challenging to maintain yourself.

You want a consistent appearance throughout your exterior, and the wrong mix will crumble. An 80 lb. bag of pre-mixed mortar costs about $10, and you’ll need three of these for a 1,000 square foot house.

As a result, you can see how cheaply you can do this yourself.

The hard part is setting aside enough time to get it finished, as it can be quite labor-intensive. To hire a professional mason to apply a German smear could cost many thousands of dollars.

Mortar comes in white or grey. However, color additives are available to widen the range of available colors.

The traditional German smear look is white mortar over red bricks. Since the mortar wash remains pliable for up to 45 minutes after application, you can customize the look and feel of it as you apply by scraping off some of the mortar to let the brick show through.

You can add mortar in any consistency you like and scrape away as much or as little as you want.

Pros of German Smear:

• Change the look and feel of your house to an antique look.
• Inexpensive and an easy DIY project.
• Permanent change with no need to re-apply after several years.

Cons of German Smear:

• Many labor hours to complete.
• Permanent change.

Bringing it Home

If you like an antique style rather than a uniform color and your brick exterior needs updating, you might want to think about using a mortar wash on your dated bricks.

The German smear technique uses inexpensive supplies and takes very little skill to apply. If you have the time or help, this technique might be the answer you’re looking for!

Photos courtesy of Pine Hall Brick. Used with permission

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At Renovations Roofing & Remodeling, Inc., we pride ourselves in offering and providing quality home exterior services. With over 20 years of experience, our continued goal is to be number one in service and customer satisfaction.

Our services range from shingles to a whole new roofline; from new windows and new siding, to wood decks, masonry services and repairs. 

That is why we say there are some things you can confidently learn to do yourself as a homeowner. There are also things you shouldn’t try on your own.

Read on to see our list of top home exterior DIY do’s and don’ts.

Home Exterior – Do It Yourself

Maintaining Your Wood Deck

Having a deck is a perk. The summer months don’t feel complete without an outdoor meal every once-in-awhile. A deck makes an excellent place to store your grill.

However, a wood deck is a perk that comes with maintenance. Wood decks need plenty of maintenance over the years. They are prone to:

Fortunately, these fixes are within the skill of an average homeowner.

Maintaining Your Doors

Replacing, fixing or repainting a dated or broken front door is something you can do yourself. Your front door can lose its weatherstripping, sag, stick or become faded over time, and refreshing it is one of the best ways to update the look of your house.

Most homeowners should be able to hang a new door with a partner easily, replace the weatherstripping for drafts, or replace the hardware.

Adding a coat of paint in a bright color is within the skill level of almost anyone.

Landscaping

From planting a window box or arranging a planter to moving big loads of soil, mulch or landscaping stone, most landscaping is grunt work.

If you have a good eye and a sense of what makes a garden look balanced, you can save big money by doing this exterior job yourself.

Cleaning Gutters

Not only can you clean your gutters yourself, but you should also clean them twice a year.

Once in the spring and once in the fall is the cleaning schedule you need to stick to. Cleaning gutters makes sure your roof doesn’t suffer.

Make sure to lean your ladder against your house and not the gutters themselves. Use your hands or a hose attachment made for the job and remove the accumulated debris. Use the hose to check for blocked downspouts.

If you suspect a blockage, remove that section and clear it out before reattaching. Now is an excellent time to have any parts of gutter or downspout that have come disjoined or loose from your house repaired.

Pro Tip: If you are unsure how to repair your gutters or downspouts, call a professional.

Washing the Exterior of Your Home

Wood, vinyl, brick, stone, and composite siding materials can all benefit from a power wash in the spring.

Make sure you follow instructions for your power washer and be careful not to remove paint unless you’re planning to repaint your house.

Pro Tip: Never power wash your roof.

What to Leave to the Pros

Masonry Repairs

Unless you know what you’re doing, and I mean really know what you’re doing, you could do irreversible damage to your bricks by attempting to repoint your masonry yourself.

This is especially true if you have an old house. If your chimney or other exterior masonry needs repair, it’s best to call in the pros. You may not enjoy the expense, but it is best to have it done right.

Replacing Siding

Replacing your siding isn’t advised for the average homeowner.

For the professionals, it may take several weeks working full-time depending on the size of the house. It would take you a lot longer.

It’s not a task for a beginner DIYer either. It may look easy enough to slap siding on an exterior wall. However, the hard parts come when you have to fit those siding panels around your house’s soffits and fascia and make it all look effortless.

The last thing you want is a home exterior that looks like an amateur did it.

Roofing

As we always recommend, it’s not safe for homeowners to get up on their roofs. However, this isn’t the only reason we would say to leave the roofing to us.

Much like applying siding, applying a new roof requires special tools, skill, and a whole crew to get it done in a timely fashion. It also takes an experienced eye to catch any problems before they arise and to install everything correctly so as not to void the product warranties.

Bringing it Home

There are a number of home exterior projects you can do yourself and be proud about how well they turned out.

A few of these – like masonry, siding, windows, and roofing are better left to professionals. It will ensure that you do no damage to your home and that it looks great when it’s finished!

Do you live in Southeast Michigan and need a professional? Please give us a call. We are here whenever you need us!

Call today

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Most home and business owners know what masonry is. It’s pretty apparent when you see a brick building. Aside from brick, however, not many people know much about masonry – including how their fireplaces and chimneys are built.

It’s understandable. Masonry is a specialized field. It takes training and experience to know how to build with bricks or stone and mortar. It’s also a building method that has been used for many hundreds of years. The work of a good mason can withstand any kind of weather.

Masonry Basics

Components of Masonry

Whether your home has walls of solid masonry, a brick chimney, or stone veneer, it’s worth having a little basic knowledge.

Masonry means anything that is constructed by fusing together individual pieces of brick, stone, concrete blocks, marble or other materials with mortar. Mortar is a binding material and can be made out of a variety of substances mixed with sand. Lime, cement, and soil are a few of the materials commonly used for masonry mortar. Mortar is different from spackling in that it uses sand.

Common Uses for Masonry

There are two primary uses for masonry in construction – solid masonry and veneer masonry.

Solid masonry refers to masonry constructed to stand on its own, bear weight and withstand the elements. Whole houses can be made of masonry. Load bearing walls are often made of masonry. Concrete block foundations are masonry. And chimney construction is usually made of masonry as well.

When structures are made out of masonry, the components used – the brick or stone and the type of mortar – must be rated to withstand both the load and the weather where it’s built. For this reason, mortar is rated for its strength and ability to withstand these things. Mortar is rated M, S, N, and O with type “M” being the strongest and “O” being the least strong.

Veneer masonry is constructed on the outside of an existing structure to change its appearance. It’s not made to stand on its own. An indoor fireplace, for instance, may have solid and veneer masonry elements. The nicer bricks may be used to finish the look of a hearth and chimney that is actually constructed of a different material.

Masonry veneer doesn’t need to be built to carry a load. The only concern for interior masonry is its final look, as it doesn’t need to withstand extremes of weather.

Brick, Stone, and Concrete

Any individual pieces mortared together to form a structure can be called masonry. The most popular forms, however, are brick, stone, and concrete block.

Brick masonry is classic, fashionable, and very good at keeping your home insulated. Bricks can be laid in a serpentine pattern – meaning each row is staggered. The serpentine style is known to be very strong.

Concrete block masonry is often used as the foundation of older homes. Concrete blocks are strong, they can be laid in a serpentine pattern, and they can be laid quickly because they are so much bigger than bricks. Additionally, concrete blocks are used to form the walls of many types of commercial building because of these qualities.

Stone masonry can be done with dressed or undressed stone. Dressed stone is actually shaped to make it more uniform and easier to lay. You see dressed stone used in a lot of stone veneer on the fronts of houses and hearths because it lends a clean, modern look.

Undressed stone, also called fieldstone, can take a lot of skill to lay correctly. Undressed stone will not be uniform, and laying it in the form of a wall or a fireplace is often called “rubble masonry.” This is more suitable for a rustic look and is often found on some of the oldest masonry dwellings and fences all over the world.

Takeaway

Masonry work is a fascinating and skilled trade. No matter how much, or how little masonry your home or business contains, it’s vital to the look, feel and safety of your home or business.

Although masonry is built to last, you have to take care of it just like any other component of your home or business.

Do you live or own a business in Southeast Michigan? If you have any questions regarding your chimney or other masonry work, please give us a call at Renovations Roofing & Remodeling, Inc.!

Call today

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We spend a significant amount of time talking about roofs and roofing systems on this blog. However, roofs are not all we do here at Renovations Roofing & Remodeling, Inc. Along with windows and siding, we also offer excellent care for your chimney and other masonry.

Masonry is sometimes a big part of your roofing system. Your chimney needs as much maintenance and attention as your roof, as it can be one of the most vulnerable points on your roof. A well-trained crew will not only make sure your roof is in tip-top shape. They will be able to maintain your chimney as well.

How a Chimney Fits in Your House

Your house may not have a fireplace, or it may be an older home that has a chimney that was designed to vent from your furnace. There are a few reasons a working chimney is still very important no matter which system your home has.

If your chimney is essentially a vent, it has probably been retrofitted that way. In this case, proper vents on the inside are essential to preventing condensation, moisture, and leaking into your house. Chimneys not connected to a fireplace must still be correctly sealed from the top to prevent leaking into the house.

However, a chimney connected to your fireplace has even more components that are important to your home.

Important Components of a Chimney

Chimney and Firebox

Your chimney and firebox protect against fire hazards in your house.

Even small parts of missing mortar or missing bricks in your firebox can significantly increase the chances of a house fire. You need to have regular inspections to make sure these elements are where they should be.

The Flue

The flue is the whole column of space for venting from the firebox up through the roof. It is one of the most important parts of a working chimney. It typically has a tile liner. While it is possible to use a flashlight to inspect part of the flue, it takes a professional chimney sweep with the proper tools to take a video of the entire length of your flue. Just as with the firebox, a damaged flue greatly heightens the chances of a house fire.

Flue Lining 

Your flue lining protects you even further from fire hazards associated with building fires in your fireplace.

Bricks and Mortar

The bricks and mortar, as well as the chimney crown and cap, protect your home from invasion by animals and water.

Potential chimney problems include chimney spalling (when bricks fall out) and misalignment. Both conditions are often are costly to fix and are preventable.

More commonly, chimneys can suffer from cracks to the mortar and to the cement crown that sits on top to protect the space between the bricks and the flue lining. While cracks are a natural part of your chimney settling, it is important to have them sealed by a professional before they get too big and allow leaking.

Flashing

The flashing between your chimney and your roof is essential to prevent leaks.

If your flashing is improperly sealed – or if the seal breaks down because it’s getting old – you are headed for major leakage into your roof and attic. Once again, this expensive repair can be prevented by regular maintenance by a professional.

Takeaway

Chimney maintenance is one of the most important things you can do to avoid costly repairs to your home. It is always a good idea to hire a company who knows chimneys as well as roofing.

If you live in Southeast Michigan and have a question about your chimney, please give us a call. We would be honored help.

Call today!

You may also like to read: Common Masonry Problems and How to Fix Them

Masonry problems that can develop when the masonry is not appropriately maintained. This includes cracking that can cause significant damage… Read more >

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Many homeowners want a fireplace in working order, and for good reason. It’s nice to be able to have a fire on a cold day. Often a brick fireplace and hearth creates an aesthetically pleasing style element running up the inside or outside of your house.

Brick masonry, if maintained and retrofitted correctly, can last for many years. However, when your brick masonry becomes cracked or develops other problems, it can be an expensive hassle. Cracks can even cause significant damage to your house.

For this reason, it’s best to make sure you always keep your chimney and other masonry maintained rather than trying to fix a problem that’s already gotten out of control.

Common Masonry Problems

Here are some of the most common masonry problems that can develop when masonry is not appropriately maintained:

Staining

Staining is one of the least dangerous problems as it is only cosmetic. Over time, bricks stain from exposure to the humidity and minerals in water and sunlight. The wrong thing to do is paint your brick without consulting a professional.

Brick needs to breathe, and if it gets sealed improperly with paint, this can cause problems and eventually structural damage to your house.

Cracking & Leaking

As cracking and leaking are the most common masonry problems, most of what you need to know is here. Cracking in your masonry is natural because when bricks settle and shift over time, small cracks appear in the mortar.

What is most important to know about this is that a professional can spot and repair the mortar joints and re-point the masonry before these small cracks become a problem. It will make your chimney or other brickwork look and perform like new.

However, if you don’t take care of this problem regularly here’s what happens: leaking.

Small cracks in your chimney aren’t a big deal by themselves. The problem is they don’t stay small. Brick and mortar are both porous materials which absorb water. When water freezes and expands, small cracks become larger cracks. Water will get in wherever it can.

Other Types of Chimney Leaks

If your chimney doesn’t have a cover, rain and snow from the top could be a significant problem. Chimneys are generally covered to keep out rain, snow, debris, and animals.

Once your chimney is significantly blocked by debris falling in near the bottom, you run a significant risk of getting carbon monoxide poisoning. So make sure everything is okay with your chimney cover.

Cracks in the Crown

Your chimney crown is the cement part on top of the chimney to keep the rain and snow from getting into the space between the bricks and the tile flue liner. If the structure of your chimney shifts or if there is shrinkage in your crown because of it being improperly installed, it may develop cracks.

These cracks are subject to the freezing and expanding of water just like your bricks. Chimney crowns can benefit from preventative maintenance. A crown coat can be applied before any significant cracking begins.

Flashing Leaks

Flashing leaks is a common problem we talk about often. The space between a chimney and the structure of your roof is often usually large and easy for water to infiltrate.

Aluminum flashing is often used, coupled with tar or another waterproof sealant, to seal that space. But flashing can get damaged, and tar doesn’t last very long.

The flashing on your roof needs to be regularly maintained to make sure leaking and significant damage to your house isn’t the result.

Other Chimney Problems

Other chimney problems that are more serious include what’s called spalling where bricks simply fall out. This condition can be dangerous and eventually make your chimney unsound. Displacement happens when your chimney doesn’t have enough lateral support and begins to warp. Both of these problems may result in needing a new chimney.

Takeaway

As with many other common roofing problems, chimney problems can be prevented with regular maintenance by a professional. If you have any questions about your chimney or about leaking in your house, call Renovations Roofing & Remodeling, Inc.  We would be happy to help!

Call today!

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