On Jun 15, 7:39*am, Frank wrote:
On Jun 14, 5:14*pm, J Burns wrote:





A few weeks ago I used mortar to patch spots on my front steps. *In the
next three days I misted it several times with a pump-up sprayer, but
the surface would dry between sprayings.

I have two chimneys of brick covered with cement (mortar, I presume) and
painted white. *Some of the cement has come off. *I'd like to patch it.
* I'd also like to patch cracks in the cement slabs that keep rain out
of the chimneys.

What's a good way to keep mortar damp? *Wet cloths and plastic? *Is
summer in the South a good time? *Hotter bricks would mean faster
evaporation but might speed curing.

Is cooler, damper weather preferred? *How long must fresh mortar be
protected from rain?

Do I need to clean out the cracks in the chimney caps for the mortar to
adhere? *Is an additive recommended?

A chimney guy resurfaced mine with a composition type material.
Looked like a thick paint or thin mortar.
Don't think he preped surface. *Think you can buy and DIY.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

We've got that on top of ours as well. Does seem to work. We have
issues with our chimney absorbing water and then dripping inside.
It's rather big and exposed on 3 sides. About every 5 years I spray a
"sealer" on the outside and that takes care of it for another 5 years.

I just hit new concrete with a light spray from the hose a few times
during the first day. After concrete sets up it's pretty hard to
disturb with just a water spray.

You might try soaking down the chimney real good before you start
fixing it. If the surrounding area is wetted down well it doesn't
"rob" water from the new concrete as much.

I found a product called super por-roc that is for setting posts and
thing in concrete. It can also be used for repairs and gap filling.
Gets hard as hell. A little pricy but not bad for small repairs.