Mortar repair (color, staining, concrete, weather)

[Squirl]

Myhouse was built in 1981 and has crumbling mortar between many of the bricks and several places with chipped out or ruts in between bricks where mortar should be. Over the years I have filled in spaces with concrete caulk and mortar, but never have an exact color match with the original work. In the next 18 months I plan to sell the house so I am scrutinizing the house and making improvements, and just generally performing maintenance on the house. Any tips for addressing this mortar problem and also ways to match new patches with existing mortar is most appreciated.

[MrRational]

Originally Posted by Squirl

built in 1981 and has crumbling mortar between many of the bricks
Any tips for addressing this mortar problem...

Start by determining why a 30yo house has had this issue. It really (really!) shouldn't.

The most common causes (beyond initial mason incompetence) are about water.

...also ways to match new patches with existing mortar is most appreciated.

The cosmetics of matching colors is the least of it.

[K'ledgeBldr]

I agree that a 30yo house shouldn't be having mortar issues unless you're in extreme weather conditions- other than that it's purely incompetence on the brickmason who originally layed the brick- too much water, too much sand, etc.

As far as repair, repoint with a mortar mix that closely resembles the original (doing an acid wash before repairs may help with color), then if there's a large disparity consider mortar staining. There are several companies across the country that do it; and/or have supplies that sell to masonry contractors. If you hire a mason to do the repairs ask if be can do staining if the mortar doesn't match well.