Things You'll Need:
- Mortar
- Mason's trowel
- Short square jointer
- Brush
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Step 1
Spread mortar into the brickwork. You need to work on one section of the brickwork at a time in order to keep the mortar from drying before you have time to strike the joint style. Using a trowel, fill the joints with mortar until the mortar is flush with the brickwork.
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Step 2
Allow the mortar to partially dry. You need to let the mortar dry to "thumbprint" level. The thumbprint level occurs when you can press your thumbprint into the mortar without mortar coming off on your thumb.
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Step 3
Fill in any surface voids. You need to check the mortar area for places where it needs to be filled in or smoothed out. If you find a spot, use a small pointing trowel to fill in the void.
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Step 4
Strike the raked style mortar joint. A raked style mortar joint leaves the mortar recessed almost ½ inch from the surface of the brickwork. Use a short square jointer to rake out the desired amount of mortar to create lines that are perpendicular to the brickwork and have no curve to them. You need to strike the vertical joints also called cross joints before you rake the horizontal or bed joints.
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Step 5
Sweep the joints. After you finish striking the joints, you need to softly brush the joints. This removes any loose mortar from the joints. You must wait 12 hours before trying to remove any large section of debris.
