"tonyjeffs" wrote in message
oups.com...
My brickwork is passable but only just.... I have some basic questions
I'm using a 3:1 mix.
The engineering bricks I'm using have 3 large holes straight through.
Should I be filling these with cement as I go along?
Should I lay excess cement on each course so there is enough sticking
out to point up? If I do this it tends to dribble.
Or should I point afterwards with a dry mix. I can do it better this
way, but I can't get smooth flowing lines to my pointing because it's
too dry. If i make it wetter, it'll stain the brick surfaces.

So my problem is one way or the other, how to get a nice finish to my
pointing without staining the outer brick surfaces.

Any tips & advice appreciated.

If your mortar is dribbling onto the face of your bricks then I think your
mix too wet.
Don't drag the excess of mortar off the wall with your trowel. ALWAYS cut
into it or you will just succeed in staining the brick face.
Think of a block of butter, you want to cut the corner off with a knife to
leave a nice clean edge on the block of butter remaining. Rather than taking
the knife and spreading over the corner. The principle is the same in
bricklaying.

Google has loads of stuff on bricklaying / pointing.
Here is just one of them

http://www.diydata.com/techniques/br...g/pointing.php