Brick Repair Mortar Testing / Matching
AMR Mortar Testing Labs provides mortar testing and matching services for newer masonry mortar and historic lime mortar restorations.
The most important part in any masonry restoration is the mortar used. The replacement mortar needs to match the original mortar in mortar type and crushing pressures. We also match the color and the sand to provide a complete mortar match.
For many masonry repair and masonry restoration companies that offer brick repair services, the projects are simply the process of filling in the cracks in the mortar joints and replacing a few broken bricks. While to some extent, this may be true, there are many other aspects to a proper repair than many masonry restoration companies consider. This is most common when it comes to brick repair because the labor doing the brick repair and the salesman are not masons. In fact, most of the time the labor performing these brick repairs are only entry level laborers. As such, they have little to no base of knowledge and understanding of how and why masonry works, or what factors may be important to completing a proper masonry restoration or brick repair.
Some of the most important factors to consider for a brick repair are the stability of the foundation, the height, weight, and design of the masonry structure, the mortar type, and crushing pressure of the mortar used. Then you can consider the mortar color. This is because the mortar color will be affected by mortar type, crushing pressures, and the sand used. However, no brick repair can last if the foundation is not stable and requires foundation repair.
There are many masonry products available on the market for new construction, and many companies who try to use them for masonry repair. This simply cannot work. These products come in grey and white and require full package consumption at time of use to achieve the labeled mortar type. When small portions of these bags are used to blend a matching mortar color, there is no way to know how much of the Portland or lime that make the mix are being used. This makes the resulting mortar type unknown. This is why we mix from the base units to create a matching mortar. It is the only way to know what type of mortar and crushing pressure is being created. We offer our mortar testing and matching services across the country. To learn more visit our products pages. Some of the products and services we offer are:
Brick Repair Dallas, TX; Dallas Brick Repair - Alamo Masonry Repair/Mortar Testing Lab - Other U.S. Cities -