Mortar, just like concrete changes colour as it ages. The weather eats away
the surface cement exposing the sand and/or aggregate. Now if the mortar was
made with the same colour sand, it will age to match the old stuff.

I had an addition on the back of my house, the mortar took about 3 years to
change from very white to a light brown-grey, now it is exactly the same as
the older mortar.


"John A. Weeks III" wrote in message
...
In article ,
"David W." wrote:

I have recently purchased a newly built home and when they bricked the
home, the mortar color is quite a bit lighter in certain places than
others.

The cheapest route would be to label this "character" and just get used
to
it. The next best bet would be to have a mason come out and inspect it,
and
give you an opinion more useful than you're likely to get here.
Tuckpointing the brick would probably do the trick, you'll need a real
estimate to know how much that'll cost.

Once you close on the house, you are kind of stuck when it comes
to issues like this. Too bad you didn't see it earlier.

I know that there is dye that can be put into mortar when you mix
it up. I wonder if there is any type of dye you could use now, one
that would absorb into the mortar, but not discolor the brick?
Sounds like something to ask the National Association Of Concrete.
Check google, I bet there is some kind of industry organization.
Or check you local brick yard. Or the mason who put this stuff
up. Or a competent mason who knows how to mix mortar in the first
place.

-john-

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John A. Weeks III 952-432-2708
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