Are you tired of seeing weeds and grass between your paving bricks? Pulling weeds by hand is back-breaking work, and many homeowners find themselves doing this multiple times throughout the summer. The tips below can prevent weeds from growing between brick pavers and give you more time to enjoy your outdoor living space. Pull Existing Weeds out by the Root Before you can prevent new weeds from growing around your pavers, you need to get rid of the existing ones. Don’t chop them down with a weed-eater because that won’t eliminate problematic roots. Instead, pull the weeds out with the roots i ..read more

Having bricks on your house could reduce your risk of a house fire. Before you light a torch against your siding, you need to know the full picture. Bricks are fireproof, but that doesn’t mean that your brick house is fireproof. Read on to learn more about how bricks protect against fire damage. Most Bricks Are Fireproof and Noncombustible Bricks are forged in fire, which makes them fireproof and noncombustible. If you throw a lit match at a stack of bricks, the bricks themselves will not catch on fire. The materials around the bricks may still be susceptible to fire damage, but the bricks th ..read more

Brick is notorious for being difficult to adhere to, but that doesn’t mean you have to limit your seasonal decorating on a brick house. All you need is the right techniques to make your house look exactly how you want it to this holiday season. Check out these tips from Mortar City Masonry to hang Christmas decorations on a brick house. How to Hang Lightweight Christmas Decorations on Brick Siding One of the easiest and most underrated ways to hang lights on a brick house is to hot glue the lights every few feet. The hot glue is easy to pull off at the end of the season, and you can hang it j ..read more

The color of your mortar has a dramatic impact on the overall appearance of your masonry. It can create contrast or bring out accent colors in your bricks, or your mortar can help your bricks look like a seamless wall of materials. Let’s compare natural mortar vs. colored mortar to help you decide what’s right for your home. What Is the Most Common Mortar Color? Gray is the most common mortar color. It is the natural color for the dry materials in mortar, making it more economical to produce than colored mortar. Colored mortar requires additional dyes to adjust the hue. With this in mind, the ..read more

Have you ever noticed missing mortar near the bottom of your brickwork? It may look like the masons forgot to install mortar between certain brick joints. This missing mortar serves a special purpose in protecting your bricks and the materials below them. Read on to learn what brick weep holes are and what they’re meant to do. What Weep Holes Look Like Weep holes look like missing slits of mortar in the vertical joints between bricks. You may notice the difference more with light mortar because the darkness of the missing mortar contrasts with the surrounding joints. Weep holes are typically ..read more

If you don’t like the way your brick pavers look, you may be tempted to paint them. This is certainly an option to consider, but it may not work the way you planned it. Before you stock up on spray paint for your pavers, you need to know the facts. Check out these pro tips from Mortar City Masonry. Pros and Cons of Painting Paving Bricks Painting your pavers is a quick way to change the way they look. You don’t have to move them around or lay new pavers. You can just cover the ones you have. If that sounds a little too good to be true, it’s because it is. Paving bricks have a porous surface t ..read more

Getting ready to add a patio to your backyard? If so, you may love the look of custom brick patios. The question is: what types of bricks should you use? Do you need full bricks like the ones you’d use for siding, or should you opt for paving bricks instead? We’ll compare your options to find the ideal setup for your brick patio. Full Bricks vs. Brick Pavers for Patios Brick pavers are designed specifically for flat surfaces. They are thinner than the bricks used for house siding, and they do not have holes in them like full bricks do. Those holes are meant to distribute mortar throughout the ..read more

Do you have gorgeous landscaping that gets lost against your house? Does your backyard feel like an endless field of untapped potential? Paving bricks can add function and visual interest to your outdoor spaces. Read on to learn how to enhance your landscaping with paving bricks. Patios, Porches, and Outdoor Living Rooms If you want to hang out in the front or back of your house, you need somewhere to go. Paver patios and porches can act as an extension of your indoor living areas. You can customize a design to fit your personal taste and lifestyle needs. If you want to add a fire pit, outdoo ..read more

Ready to dress up your backyard this summer? We’ve got some hot tips to help you relax and entertain all summer long. Check out these suggestions to spruce up your outdoor makeover. Consider Your Functional Needs First Your functional needs should always come first, whether you’re renovating your home or refreshing your outdoor furniture. How do you plan to use your patio and yard this summer? Will you mostly cook out, or will you spend your time lounging by the pool? Do you plan to host big parties or just hang out as a family? Make sure your outdoor makeover accommodates your functional nee ..read more

Does your concrete porch feel boring, outdated, or out of style? Consider this your sign to get a porch makeover. A few simple refreshes can make a tremendous difference in how you look at your home. Check out these concrete porch makeover ideas for 2023. Flaked Epoxy Porch Paint Flaked epoxy paint has become a hot commodity in recent years. It has long been popular for garage floor coatings, but more homeowners are now using epoxy for outdoor surfaces. If you have two slabs of concrete from different time periods, a coat of epoxy can make them look cohesive. The flakes in most applications a ..read more