Q. My brick front steps are 50 to 60 years old but are in fairly good shape. I recently found several beige-colored spots about the size of a quarter on the treads. Someone tried wetting them with ...

Jeff Somers is a freelancer who has been writing about writing, books, personal finance, and home maintenance since 2012. When not writing, Jeff spends his free time fixing up his old house. He has ...

We've all seen it: The brick or stone wall where the mortar is all powdery, cracked or non-existent. "Mortar can disintegrate over time because of weather as a result of the freeze-thaw cycles. The ...

When the mortar between bricks starts to fail, more significant problems will begin to emerge. Water will have an easier passage into the structure of your home, leading to unwanted damp issues.

Repointing brickwork is usually required at least once or twice per century. Wear, weather and structural stresses cause the mortar between bricks to deteriorate over the decades, until you’re left ...