Masonry cleaning and sealing
Fackrell Masonry and Construction cleans and seals brick, stone and pavers across Southern Idaho. Stains that consumer cleaners will not touch come off, damaged brick and mortar are repaired first, and then it is sealed. The color comes back and the surface is protected.
A customer had tried a range of consumer grade cleaners on the stains on their front porch. Nothing touched them. We were already there on a bigger job, and by the time we got to the porch they were asking whether we could clean the surface or whether the whole thing had to come out and be replaced. Using an acid based industrial strength cleaner we took the stains off, and with a wet look sealer applied the color came back and the final look was better than the original. That came in well under what replacing the porch would have cost, and they kept the porch they already had.
Cleaning is only half of it, and it is the second half. At Swan Valley School, years of sprinklers hitting the same brick had left heavy water staining along the bottom of the building. Up close there was more than staining. Moss and lichen had taken hold in the corners where the joints had eroded back, and some bricks had lost their faces down to the hollow cores. None of that improves on its own, and none of it should be sealed over. So the brick work came first: replace the damaged brick, repoint the mortar that had washed out, then clean and seal.
Where a surface could be damaged we will try a method on a small area first, because the wrong approach on masonry is not something you can undo. Sealing has a second benefit people do not expect: it brings the color out. On a house where the brick was sealed but a light post was left until its new mortar cured, the difference between the two was visible from the street.
What this covers
- Testing several cleaning methods on a small area first, then using the one that actually works on your masonry
- Acid based industrial strength cleaning for stains that consumer grade cleaners will not remove
- Removing set mortar smears as far as they will come without taking the face of the brick with them
- Replacing damaged brick and repointing eroded mortar joints before anything is cleaned or sealed
- Clearing moss, lichen and vegetation out of joints where they have taken hold
- Sealer in a wet look that brings the color out, or one you cannot see at all once it has dried, whichever you want
- Paver joints re-sanded with a sand and cement joint filler as part of a paver clean and seal
How to tell you need this
- Dark stains on a porch, step or walk that store bought cleaners will not shift
- A band along the bottom of the building a different color than the rest, from sprinklers hitting the same brick for years
- Green or yellow growth in the mortar joints, usually in the corners that stay damp
- Pavers gone dull and faded after years in the sun
- Somebody has told you the surface has to be replaced and you would rather keep what you have
Questions people ask
Can you clean stained brick in Boise, Nampa or Idaho Falls?
Yes. Fackrell Masonry and Construction works out of Nampa in the Treasure Valley and Blackfoot in eastern Idaho. The service area is all of Southern Idaho, between the Oregon and Wyoming borders, as far north as McCall, Stanley, New Meadows, and Salmon. Send photos of the staining on the quote form at https://fmandc.com/intake/.
Will you clean and seal a house, or is that commercial only?
Washing and sealing I will do on anything, a house included. Stain removal is the one that is different. Getting a specific stain off takes trial to find something that shifts it without hurting the brick, and on some stains nothing does. That is not time I can spend on a small job on its own. If I am already on site doing brick repair or repointing, I can test while the other work goes on, and if something works then I will clean it.
Will cleaning damage my brick or stone?
It can, which is why anything that might be aggressive gets tried on a small area first. On a badly stained porch the fix was an acid based industrial strength cleaner, and that was an aggressive approach that etched the masonry surface. With sealer over it the finish looked better than when the porch was first constructed. On a gentler stain we use a gentler method.
Can you get old mortar smears off my brick?
Usually most of it, rarely all of it. Mortar that has sat on a brick face for years works into the pores, and the aggressive end of removing it takes the face of the brick with it. So I will get it as clean as it will come without wrecking the brick, and I will tell you where that line falls before I start rather than after. Worth knowing where a smear usually comes from: somebody working outside their trade, a sweep or a handyman who took on a repointing job. A mason cleans the face as he goes, because he knows what a set smear costs to fix later.
How long does sealer last?
Four or five years at the most, and less than that on a wall that takes daily sprinkler spray or full afternoon sun. Anybody telling you a masonry sealer is permanent is selling you something. That is not a reason to skip it. Sealer is what keeps water and stains out of the pores of the brick, and water in the brick is what eventually costs you mortar joints. Think of it the way you think of paint on a house: a maintenance item on a cycle, not a one-time fix. When it is due again you will see it, because water stops beading and starts soaking in.
Should I paint my brick?
Most masons will tell you not to, and I am one of them. Part of that is simply that we like brick in its natural state, and most masons think painted brick looks terrible. The bigger problem is that it is almost never done right. Brick has to breathe. There is paint made for it, but the wrong product traps the moisture that used to pass out through the wall, and that pushes the face off the brick and can take a whole wall with it. It is a painting question. It is just one that most painters do not understand. And once it is on, there is no going back. Getting paint off brick without wrecking the brick is close to impossible.
Does sealing change how the masonry looks?
Yes, and usually for the better. A wet look sealer brings the color out of brick, stone and pavers rather than leaving them flat and dull. On a house sealed while its light post was still curing, the difference between the two was obvious from the street.
Do I need mortar repairs before you seal?
If the joints have eroded or bricks are damaged, yes. Sealer does not fix an open joint or a spalled brick, it just covers it. At Swan Valley School the damaged brick was replaced and the washed out mortar repointed before any cleaning or sealing happened, which is the order that makes the sealing worth paying for.
Do you clean and seal schools and commercial buildings?
Yes. Swan Valley School was brick repair, mortar repointing, cleaning and sealing on the whole exterior, worked off scaffold and ladders for the tall gym wall. The building was in relatively good condition and the principal wanted the small issues handled before they became major problems.
Masonry washing and sealing projects
Real jobs, my own photos, and what the problem actually turned out to be.
Stain removal and sealing
A stained brick front porch and steps cleaned with an industrial acid cleaner, a cracked mortar joint repaired, and the whole surface sealed.
Swan Valley School cleaning and sealing
Cleaning and sealing the brick exterior of Swan Valley School, with damaged brick replaced and eroded mortar joints repointed first.
Often needed alongside
Tuckpointing and repointing
Cutting out failed mortar and replacing it, matched as closely as the materials allow.
Tuckpointing and repointing →Stone patios and pavers
Patios, walkways and driveways laid on a base that holds.
Stone patios and pavers →New brick, stone and block
New brick, stone veneer, block walls and fences.
New brick, stone and block →