After some of the snow melted I noticed a lot of the cement between my bricks on my back patio coming loose. What are my options to fix it?
Answer
When the cement (mortar) between patio bricks starts coming loose after snow melts, it’s almost always water + freeze-thaw damage showing itself. Here are some options for you
1. Tuckpointing (best long-term fix)
The loose mortar is ground out and replaced with new mortar. This restores strength, stops water from getting deeper, and makes the patio solid again. If the bricks themselves are still in good shape, this is the correct repair.
2. Partial tuckpointing (budget-conscious)
Only the areas with loose or sandy mortar are repaired. It’s cheaper and can buy you some time but expect to eventually do the rest because the areas the look ok now won’t be ok over time. Also although matching new mortar with old is reasonably possible sometimes even the best brick masons can’t 100% guarantee you won’t be able to notice the difference especially on flat surfaces that are exposed to dust, dirt, sun & moisture for decades. It can sometimes be difficult to recreate the exact illusion of decades of wear.
