I had a rather large foundation crack that needed some attention so I posted on the Rehabber's group and asked for advice. Shish, those Rehabber people! Ask them a question, get a few answers and then they start trying to one up each other.
I went with Jeff Neumann's advice: Just use a Type S mortar with some sugar sand mixed in (15-20 shovels for each bag of mortar) should do the job. If you're able to grind the crack out first, the application will take better. Also remember that the cracks can reoccur as the building settles, so this may not be a permanent fix. Nu-way sells an epoxy based mortar which may be a bit better for your situation, although the Type S is pretty standard. Best of luck.
TGH resident and friend, Other Tim added, useless human knowledge:
mortar "harndess" designations come from looking at every other
letter in the phrase "MaSoN wOrK". M is the hardest, O and K are
recognized (by whatever entities recognizes such things...)but
seldom, if ever, used. N is standard for older structures.
I took Jeff's advice and ended up with an eighty pound bag of Mohawk Mortar.
I googled Mohawk Mortar with no results...so what's behind the name?
The mega crack
Go ahead and sneer, these are the tools I used:
Trowel for lifting the mortar out of the bag.
Pan cake turner for mixing.
A dust pan for filling the crack, the mortar slid in.
Sofa pillow snatched in the alley for sitting on while working.
Beau supervising.
Filled and setting.
