Help please!

9 years ago

We resurfaced our old reclaimed brick fireplace with a beautiful slate stacked stone. The only thing we didn't research and think of was that the white mortar shows through some of the creases and in the bigger gaps. We didn't think to color the mortar as we went and I'm still kicking myself for not thinking about it.

I went through and scraped as much of it out as I could, but I'm at a point where I'm wondering if it would make sense to add a thin layer of colored grout or caulk in the worst spots.

How can I fix this? I'm terrified that it's unfixable. Our local tile store said to just use some paint and pain the creases to match, but that just looks awful!

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Ann K
Original Author

9 years ago

Additional questiong would using a spray sealer help blend the painted grout? I sprayed some water on a test spot and it looks better maybe???

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Comments (7)

PRO
Cancork Floor Inc.
9 years ago
Was this DIY? Some of those lines look pretty wonky...and I'm concerned with the voids I'm seeing in the mortar.
Ann K
Original Author
9 years ago
That concerns me too... It was a DIY project. Is it possible to fix it?
PRO
Cancork Floor Inc.
9 years ago
I'm no stone mason, but my brother is. I think I saw something like this in his first year. His German Meisters let him "play" with some left overs - just to see how he did. They laughed at the attempt...but noted that he had been "picking things up" rather well. They went ahead and trained him properly. His "attempt" was tossed into the scrap pile - and he was told never to do that again. A mason would never allow this to be shown to a client.

If this was done by a professional (of any sort) you could/should ask for a COMPLETE redo. The level of skill the person shown on the FIRST attempt does not lend itself to a competent "fix".

Sorry but this may be well beyond your skill set. The esthetics are one thing (ugly as it is, we can learn to live with anything). The VOIDS are the biggest concern. You can't fix voids BEHIND the stone. If you can see voids in the mortar joints (which are fixable) then how much CAN'T YOU SEE???

Again, ask yourself if this is acceptable from a "bad handy man"?
Ann K
Original Author
9 years ago
Acceptable or not, it's not like I can just scrap the whole thing and start over. So while I appreciate the anecdote, I'm really asking for solutions.
PRO
Cancork Floor Inc.
9 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
You are welcome to post the project on a stone/tile website. That way you can get some masons to chime in on what the visual fix is. Again, the voids are the most concerning thing and that has to be tested in situ...photos won't tell us anything. Each stone has to be tapped. A stone with a void behind it will make a different sound than one that is solidly mortared in place. If you have too many voids, the stones will fall off. And that makes for a nasty mess. And possibly a lawsuit if it hits someone.

Which is why the visible voids are so startling. We must assume that if you can see voids in the mortar lines, there are voids behind the stones.

I wish you luck. Hopefully someone who deals with stone and mortar and voids can chime in with a "Yes or no" answer to "can this be fixed with coloured mortar in the joints".
Ann K
Original Author
8 years ago
Totally forgot about this post, but for what it's worth in case someone has a similar issue- I used sanded colored grout to paint over the white mortar peeking through.

Used a special solution from the tile store instead of water when mixing to keep it from drying out and contracting/expanding with heat and moisture in the air. Made the solution a little bit more watery than typically and used a brush to fill in the gaps.

Then sealed the whole thing- spray bottle work best for uneven surfaces like this.

Worked pretty well!