Many natural factors can damagestone walls.
Erosion is the obvious choice, as is frost heave.
A damaged wall that doesn’t receive timely attention poses a safety hazard.
You may be tempted to replace damaged stone with synthetic stone made from epoxy or cement-based materials.
Such imitation stone is less expensive.
Work the popped stone out of the wall carefully, without dislodging the other stones.
Drive the wedges into the wall slightly further.
Use a crowbar to take the weight off the wedges and remove them.
You may have to work the wedges and the crowbar back out of the wall at the same time.
Mark Area
A collapsed section of wall can often be repaired without total replacement.
Inspect the wall and visualize a V-shape section that you’ll need to remove.
Mark the area on the wall with marking chalkdon’t use spray paint.
Then number the stones with chalk so it’s possible for you to replace them to their original positions.
Take a photo of the wall to further help you replace the stones in the right order.
Dismantle the damaged section.
If they do, choose the most gentle cleaning method that can handle the job.
Apressure washercan be an effective cleaning method, but also may erode softer stones like sandstone.
Keep in mind that water increases damage to badly deteriorated mortar.
Repair the mortar before cleaning with water.
Steam cleaning is an effective method for removing embedded soil and poses less risk than sandblasting.
Sandblasting is a method of last resort.
A poultice of absorbent material mixed with a solvent can remove many chemical stains without damaging the stone.
Keep the poultice on the stain as long as necessary to remove the stain.
Set the stones using the same techniques used to build it.
Be sure to replace any small stones used to keep larger ones in place.
Fill in the center recess between the wythes with cracked rubble.
Clean the joint until you reach solid mortar.
Mist the joint with water from a spray bottle and squeeze mortar into the joints.
Pack Each Joint
Pack each joint tightly with a pointing trowel, adding more mortar if necessary.
Tool the joints to match the original and remove excess mortar with a stiff brush.
Remove Damaged Stone
Remove the damaged stone by chiseling out the mortar around the stone.
Angle the chisel in the direction of the damaged stone to avoid damaging others.
Then pry out the stone.
Using a wider cold chisel, remove as much mortar as possible from the cavity.
Brush or blow out the cavity to remove loose mortar and dust (wear eye protection).
Insert the stone and push it into place using the pointing trowel.
Pack mortar against all sides of the stone.
When the mortar has set, tool it to match the original.
