River rock has a smooth, round appearance.
A river-rock fascia adds an earthy appearance to a home. The thin rock wall can be beautiful and long-lasting. Over time, however, it can become weathered and damaged, developing cracks. Pieces of mortar and stones may even fall out. Repairing a rock wall-facing requires replacement stones and some mortar. Any damaged mortar must be removed, then fresh mortar can be used to fill in cracks and apply replacement stones to the fascia. Does this Spark an idea?
Instructions
1. Examine the rock fascia to determine the extent of the damage. If the mortar between stones is cracked and falling out, you'll only need to replace the mortar. If the rocks are cracked or broken, you'll need to find replacement river rock. This can often be purchased at hardware or home improvement stores.
2. Chisel out any damaged areas of the fascia with a small chisel and hammer. Try to save any reusable river rocks. Avoid damaging the rest of the wall. Brush the remaining dirt and mortar out of the area. Save the old mortar to mix with the new grout.
3. Powder the old mortar in a heavy stone bowl with a pestle or similar item. Crush the mortar until it's smooth.
4. Pour a small amount of mortar into a plastic bucket. Add in the powdered mortar you ground up. Stir in water until you have a mixture that is the consistency of mud. The mortar should stick to an upside-down trowel without falling off.
5. Scoop some mortar onto the wall face, spreading it out with the trowel. Pick up the replacement river rock and spread a layer of mortar on the back of the rock. Press the rock into the wet mortar on the wall. It should stick in place.
6. Fill in spaces between the rocks with mortar. Scoop up a small dab of mortar on the edge of the trowel. Scrape that mortar off the trowel into the space between the river rocks. Keep adding mortar until the spaces are filled. Scrap excess mortar off with the edge of the trowel.
7. Allow the river rock fascia to dry for at least 24 hours to give the mortar time to set. The mortar may look slightly different in color from the rest of the rock wall, but it should blend in with time.
Tags: edge trowel, mortar until, mortar with, replacement river, replacement river rock
