What is a mortar rake used for?
What is a mortar rake used for? |
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The process of removing mortar from between brick/stonework and adding in new mortar is called ‘repointing’. | |||
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As a building ages, the mortar between the bricks or stones starts to crumble and wear. As the mortar begins to disappear, the inside of the building can suffer from damp, as the moisture which is normally prevented from seeping into the structure of the building is allowed to do so with the absence of mortar. | |||
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Sometimes, mortar can be mixed badly and it starts to crumble prematurely, or, the mortar could be made with too much cement. As a result, the mortar will not be moist enough and will take the moisture from the surrounding bricks/stones, causing them to crumble and weakening the structure of the building over time. | |||
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Deciding on which tool to use when removing mortar will depend on the following:
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1. The area and amount of mortar you will be removing |
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Thinking about the area and amount of mortar you will be removing will help you decide which type of tool to use.
If you need to remove a large area of mortar, you may find it more helpful to use a power tool with a mortar rake attachment as the power tool will be able to rake through the mortar at a faster pace than you would be able to do by hand. |
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2. The blend of mortar you will be removing |
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The blend of mortar you are removing will affect which tool you use.
Although a hand-powered tool may be easy to use on lime-based mortar (as it will crumble easily when raked), a cement-based mortar mix may be much harder to rake through by hand and so will require the strength provided by a power tool. |
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3. The power tools you already have available |
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The choice of power tools you have available may decide your choice in mortar rake attachments.
Rather than using power tools such as angle grinders with grinding discs, or SDS plus drills with masonry drill bits in, it is advisable to use a mortar rake attachment as they are designed specifically for the removal of mortar between stones and bricks. |
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Unlike other power tool combinations, a mortar rake cuts/grinds out mortar between the joint beds (horizontals) and ‘perps’ (perpendicular angles – verticals) | |||
