How to Replace a Broken Brick: Personal Experience
As a home owner, there may come a time when you need to replace a broken brick. Thankfully, replacing a broken brick isn’t that hard, expensive or time consuming to do. It is a task that I have had to complete before. Here’s what I did in order to get the job done:
Removing the Broken Brick
I started the project by inspecting the area around the broken brick and making a list of supplies that I would need for the repair. Next, I grabbed a rubber mallet, a chisel, a wet-dry vacuum, my safety goggles and work gloves. Once I had my safety goggles and work gloves on, I used the rubber mallet ($8) and chisel ($10) to remove the broken brick and mortar. I saved the chips of broken brick and set them aside. Then I used the wet-dry vacuum to remove any dust and residual debris from the wall’s newly formed cavity.
Preparing the Replacement Brick
At that point, I grabbed the fragments of brick and took them with me to my local home improvement store. I used the broken pieces to select a replacement brick that was a close in color to the old brick. After I made my purchase I went back home to finish the project. Before I could insert the replacement brick ($1), I had to alter its size. I did that by measuring and making my cut lines onto the replacement brick. Using the cut lines as a guide, I used the chisel and mallet to carefully cut the brick down to size.
Installing the Replacement Brick
I continued my work by dampening the newly formed cavity in the brick wall. I did that in order to minimize mortar shrinkage. Then I took out my trowel and mortar. I wet the replacement brick and prepared the mortar. Once the mortar was ready, I used the trowel to apply it to the sides and bottom of the brick wall’s cavity. With the new mortar in place, I carefully slid the replacement brick into position. Afterward, I packed more mortar into the joints and scrubbed them down with a damp, soft-bristled brush ($14). The scrubbing motion helped to compress the mortar into the joints. Once the new mortar was compressed properly, I used a mason’s strike to match the new joints with the old ones. After that, I let it dry thoroughly before applying a fresh coat of masonry sealer.
Killeen Gonzalez enjoys completing home improvement projects with her family.
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