A reader recently emailed me, seeking advice on whether to take on a do-it-yourself repair of the mortar around her brick masonry. She regularly performs hands-on maintenance around her home, she said ...

Q. I am installing flagstone and some paving brick on top of a concrete patio. A book I read suggests mixing sand, cement and hydrated lime in different proportions to make the mortar mix. What is ...

"Cordwood Building" collects the wisdom of more than 25 of the world's best practitioners, detailing the long history of the method, and demonstrating how to build a cordwood home using the latest and ...

Brick and mortar is a solid building material, but it won't last forever. Here are the basics for "tuckpointing", the process of repairing and rebuilding a brick wall. The mortar and cement holding ...

Q We have very active woodworm in an old property we have just bought. Is borax solution safe to treat it? We have no intention of using permethrin. I want to use the borax-based treatment on all the ...