I have a turn of the century house and most of the basement is brick in
fairly good condition. however some spots are not so good the mortar in
between has come out up to about 1/2 inch and in some spots the brick is
flakey. i want to just mabye fill in the spots with mortar and paint over
it, (it was previously painted) and be done with it, not sure if i will
need a pro though, any ideas?

Rob