Can I use regular grout on this exterior brick?

[Pirate]

Can I use regular sanded grout on this exterior brick? These bricks are from decorative strips in my driveway, which have deteriorated over the years. I don't care how pretty the finished result is, I just want to fill the cracks and voids while semi-matching the color. I'd give it a good cleaning first, but I don't want bother with digging out any of the old mortar.

Also, would it be a good idea to cover it with plastic for a day, to keep it moist and not let it dry too fast? I assume I'd need to wet the area down good before grouting.

[Houston Remodeler]

Randy,

The problem with using grout in this instance would be smearing it all over the place. It doesn't handle as well as regular brick mortar. I'd find a mason who can tap this job out in a few minutes for a couplah dollars. You'd be surprised how quickly a skilled hand can point those bricks.

You might save some money by grinding out the crappy mortar before the mason gets there.

[ceramictec]

Randy,

being these are on your driveway there is probably movement in them somehow
which has caused the mortar to crack out.
re-pointing or grouting again and you'll likely have the same thing happen soon.

[Kman]

I think there's a certain type of sand that can be used to fill that in, but the mortar will have to be taken out.

Mortar will always crack because of movement, freeze/thaw, and of course, driving over it doesn't help.

[Davestone]

You may also have a crack under there seeing as it is probably thinner concrete.I would take a brick or two out and see.If so i would put a membrane down, and drill some holes to allow for water to drain, then reapply brick and mortar and seal mortar.....or just retuckpoint and go have a beer.

[Davy]

I'm thinking like some of the others, the bricks are moving when you drive over them. Regrouting would just be a bandaid. I would take them out and reset them in mud and grout them up with brick mortar.

[Houston Remodeler]

Exactly. Those bricks were put there in place of the expansion joint. Of course the mortar is gonna crack. Now if you want you can put some of that self leveling caulky grey stuff they use around ceement ponds, but it will look kinda funny.

[Pirate]

Thanks for the replies, but I guess what I'm looking for is a "band-aid" solution, something that a pro probably wouldn't be comfortable with. To me, it's not worth the time and money to dig it all out and redo it with expansion joints, membranes, or whatever. If it was the interior of my house, I'd be much more concerned about doing it right. I've seen the self-leveling goop, but I think the gray color would look really bad.