Hole in the Wall

There are times when living in a home leads to frustration and anger. I thought of all of that this week when I noticed a hole in the mortar surrounding the bricks. It was about the size of a quarter and about a foot from the ground. I imagined a mouse finding its way into my house or many more crawling animals having yet another entry into the house. I knew that I had to do something right away. To be clear, I had noticed this hole last fall, but the person who was going to tuck point that area, never showed up to do the job. Now, it  is spring and the hole, in my estimation, is even larger.

I took several pictures of the hole and went to Home Depot. I showed the Home Depot guy my pictures and asked if there was something that can be done short of tuckpointing. Amazingly enough, there  is something called Mortar Fix by Sikaflex. It cost less than $6 and you use it as you would caulk. Because I decided to give my ego a break and Home Depot guy offered, we went through step by step what I needed to do to complete the task. He showed me how to cut the tip off the Mortar Fix with the caulking gun and load the gun. He also said that I may have to cut the tip larger than what was possible with the caulking gun. After that help, I was good to go.

Let me be clear, this is not a blog about Home Depot, but I needed some serious help and their employee took the time and let me ask all the stupid questions I needed to ask. Plus, I had no intention of going back that day.

Back home, I cut the tip off with the caulking gun, but had to use a utility knife to get the tip the size I needed it to be. I loaded the gun and squeezed. Nothing happened. Then I read the directions. I failed to puncture the cannister at the base of the tip. Searching the garage, I found a skinny weapon to do the job and reloaded the mortar repair. This time I was in business. I went straight to the hole and filled it easily. I then noticed several more holes and began filling them also. All in all it was a successful and quick project. And I felt good about myself. Remember, I'm the person that took four days to change a recessed bulb. I wonder if there will ever be a time when I will feel less overwhelmed by the projects that come my way. But, I have learned that my best weapon is my camera. I have taken pictures of my next project and will be visiting a home improvement store soon to ask how I can complete it.