Things You'll Need:
- Mortar
- Mason's trowel
- Brush
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Step 1
Get the proper supplies. Before you begin you need to inventory your supplies. You might want to have an assortment of mason's trowels, brushes and jointers. Purchase from a local vendor the supplies you are missing.
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Step 2
Push mortar into the brickwork. With the trowel you need to push the mortar into the gaps between the brickwork. Keep the mortar from drying before you have time to strike the joint style by working on one section of the brickwork at a time. You need to make the mortar flush with the brickwork.
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Step 3
Leave the mortar to dry. Before you can strike a joint, you need to let the mortar dry to "thumbprint" level. This is the point when you can press your thumbprint into the mortar without mortar coming off on your thumb. It is important to strike the joint when the mortar is at the same stage in the drying process.
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Step 4
Repair any surface voids. A surface void occurs when the mortar is not flush with the brickwork. You need to fill or smoothed out these areas by using additional mortar and a small pointing trowel to fill in the area.
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Step 5
Trowel the struck style mortar joint. To form a struck style joint the blade of a small trowel needs to be angled inwards at the bottom of the joint. You must drag the blade backwards along the bed joints. You need to strike the vertical joints also called cross joints before you rake the horizontal or bed joints. Keep the angle the same direction when you trowel the cross joints.
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Step 6
Brush the joints. You need to softly brush the joints to remove any loose mortar from the joints. You must wait 12 hours before trying to remove any large section of debris.
