I live in a 90+ year old house. My basement is made of cinder blocks, with mortar that has degraded over time in two of the walls.
Last year, using my favorite powertool (a 21 year old son who was still living at home) I removed the crumbling mortar from about 20 feet worth of wall and replaced it with hydraulic cement. I basically had him scrape out whatever was the least bit crumbly from a 4'-6' section at a time and then backfill it with the hydraulic cement. Combined with some regrading of the yard and some waterproofing paint, it was a complete success in stopping the water from coming in.
Now my son has moved out and I need to do the next section of wall myself. So, what powertool would work best for removing the old mortar? Fast and easy is always good, but I do use the room in will be working in as an office, so keeping dust to a manageable level is also important. Especially because I think it is best to work in small sections again, instead of doing the entire wall all in one day. Removing one side of the mortar from 20' of wall would make me nervous from a structural integrity point of view.
An angle-grinder with a diamond blade would certainly do the job, but create a nightmare of dust. Would a multi-purpose tool be the answer? I have never actually used one, so I am not really sure if it would be the right tool. How much dust do they kick up? What blade should I use? How many blades would I go through? Would the HF model be up to the task?
Is there a better tool I haven't thought of?
.
Last year, using my favorite powertool (a 21 year old son who was still living at home) I removed the crumbling mortar from about 20 feet worth of wall and replaced it with hydraulic cement. I basically had him scrape out whatever was the least bit crumbly from a 4'-6' section at a time and then backfill it with the hydraulic cement. Combined with some regrading of the yard and some waterproofing paint, it was a complete success in stopping the water from coming in.
Now my son has moved out and I need to do the next section of wall myself. So, what powertool would work best for removing the old mortar? Fast and easy is always good, but I do use the room in will be working in as an office, so keeping dust to a manageable level is also important. Especially because I think it is best to work in small sections again, instead of doing the entire wall all in one day. Removing one side of the mortar from 20' of wall would make me nervous from a structural integrity point of view.
An angle-grinder with a diamond blade would certainly do the job, but create a nightmare of dust. Would a multi-purpose tool be the answer? I have never actually used one, so I am not really sure if it would be the right tool. How much dust do they kick up? What blade should I use? How many blades would I go through? Would the HF model be up to the task?
Is there a better tool I haven't thought of?
.
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