Try to break a chunk of granite with a cold chisel and hammer, and you may not even scratch the surface. Like other dense stone, it should last indefinitely in walls, patios, steps, chimneys and other ...

DEAR TIM: I’ve just placed an offer to purchase a two-bedroom house. It’s an older building, probably close to 70 or more years old. After placing the offer, I then took a closer look around the ...

The mortar joints between bricks and stones can become porous with age, allowing rainwater to penetrate to the inside. This can cause damp patches to appear on interior walls and ruin decorations. The ...

Q: I live in San Francisco and have brick stairs with a landing leading to my entry door. The brick and mortar is original (about 1928), and during the recent rains, I have noticed that the wood ...

Q. I need to repair the mortar joints on my older brick home that was built in the late 1800s. I’ve seen some horrible workmanship where the mortar doesn’t match at all, and I want to avoid this. How ...

I’ve just placed an offer to purchase a two-bedroom house. It’s an older building, probably close to 70 or more years old. After placing the offer, I then took a closer look around the exterior and ...

QDEAR TIM: I have a patio repair job at my house. The irregular pieces of limestone are fine, but the mortar joints between them are failing. In some places, the stones have lifted up. The patio is ...

Question: I’ve just placed an offer to purchase a two-bedroom house. It’s an older building, probably close to 70 or more years old. After placing the offer, I then took a closer look around the ...