When we talk about a house, we talk about shelter which means roof but when we talk about its beauty, we talk about the walls. The first thing that literally comes to mind when we think about giving a new look to the house, is a paint job but if the walls are not smooth, even a paint job or a wallpaper installation can’t hide it. A lose or chipped brick in a wall destroys the overall look of the wall completely and if you leave it there chances are that this will initiate further damage. This will give way to the moisture that will eventually enter the wall and ruin it, so it’s better to act quickly and repair it yourself. If you are one of those handy people, you just need this beginner's guide to replace the damaged or broken brick in the wall. But before that, its better to have a masonry estimate to know the extent of damaged brick wall.

For starting this, you will need a few tools that you will see lying around the house or in your trusted toolbox. This, of course, means safety goggles because protection comes first and then cold chisel, bucket, wide brick chisel along with wire brush, garden hose, sledgehammer, metal rod, sharp trowel, stiff scrub brush, and mixing bucket. Along with these tools, you will require raw material which means the new brick that you want to install along with mortar coloring, mix mortar, and corrugated cardboard scrap.

Start with removing the brick first, you will require a cold chisel and sledgehammer for that, start with digging up the mortar around the brick. Just go slow as you don’t want to damage anything else around, now take out the damaged brick. For the brick to be replaced, you want to make sure that the new brick is soaked up in the water. Just grab a bucket and fill it up with water and soak the brick in it. Now just clean the place with the help of garden hose, make sure to get the water pressure in there to clean up better. Now mix up raw material according to the instruction on the mortar packet. You can also test up if you spread out a thin layer of mortar on paper, this way you can see what color it would be when it dries.

Now you have to stick the brick in and add mortar to secure it in place, to make sure it matches the color just add the coloring. You have to spray the cavity with the water so it is damp and ready to let the brick sit. Mortar should be in a thick layer speeded evenly on the brick. Now if you have sprayed water in the cavity you have to take out the replacement brick that you have soaked in water and add just the right amount of mortar, of course, you don’t want to overflow it. While placing, ensure that the brick is properly locked with the wall surface. Now place the brick and mortar on top and side, smooth it out, and scrape excess. Now, just use a towel and a brick jointer with thin rode to match the join with the rest of the wall. Now just keep it damp, because this will take time to firm out and if it dries too quickly this won’t allow it to settle down. Just use a stiff brush to scrape out the excess and you are done.

You want to make sure that the place is even and you can’t see the joint at all. For this, try to even out by scraping extra mortar and adjusting the brick, however, don’t push it otherwise you might damage the wall. If you are not sure it even, try pasting a paper on it and get further away from the wall, you will see if there is an uneven surface or any flaw in the wall right away.

This tutorial is just a help for the beginners who want to do this at home, however, this is no way a replacement for the professional service. Usually, people end up damaging the wall while scarping out the broken or damaged brock which is the reason it is advised to go slow, however, it still advised to take help from a professional for a better finish.