Brick pointing in Tallahassee FL - Mortar joints that match and keep water out
Crumbling, cracked or sunken mortar lets water into your brick. We cut it out and repack the joints with a mix that suits your brick.
- Licensed and fully insured.
- Free in-person estimates.
- Expect a reply within 1 business day.
What is brick pointing, and does my house need it?
Brick pointing in Tallahassee means cutting worn mortar out from between your bricks and packing fresh mortar into the joints, so water stays out of the wall and the brickwork looks whole again.
You may have swept sandy grit from the foot of a wall, or noticed the joints looking thin and patchy beside the brick. The price depends mostly on how much of the wall needs new joints and how deep the old mortar has worn. The schedule depends on the size of the job and on whether your house needs a permit or historic review before we start. If some bricks are cracked or loose as well, we can handle the brick repair as part of the same job. Once I've seen the wall, you get your own figure in a written estimate.
How we do brick pointing on your house
I start by checking how deep the mortar has worn and how soft the brick is, because that decides both the mix and how the old joints come out. Before we do a whole wall, we set a small test patch in a spot you won't notice, so you can see the color and the joint first. I'll tell you which mortar mix we plan to use and why it suits your brick. Then we cut the old mortar back to sound material, clear out the dust and dampen the joints so the brick doesn't draw the water out of the new mortar too fast. We pack the fresh mortar in thin layers. Last, we tool each joint, pressing it to shape to match the old ones, and brush the face clean before any smear can harden on the brick. The old mason who taught me made me tear out any joint that wasn't right, and that is still the standard on our walls.
Sometimes the joints are only the symptom. If cracks climb the wall in a stair-step line or open again soon after they're filled, I'll tell you plainly, because new mortar won't stay put on a wall that's still moving, and foundation repair has to come first. Chimneys are the other place I look closely, since their mortar takes weather from every side, and we can take care of chimney repair during the same job.
Repointing the worst walls
This suits a house where the wear is mostly on one or two walls, often the side that catches roof runoff, because you fix the damage now and don't pay for joints that are still sound. The new joints may look a shade fresher than the rest until they weather in.
Repointing the whole house
This makes sense when the mortar is worn all the way around, because the joints then match on every side and the whole house gets its upkeep at once. It's the larger job, but it usually saves setting up a second time a few years later.
If mortar is dropping out in pieces or a crack runs through the bricks themselves, call (850) 391-6065 rather than wait, so I can look before more water gets in.
What happens after you call us about brick pointing?
Here's how a repointing job runs with us, from your first call to the walk-around at the end, so you know who you'll see and what you'll have in hand at each step.
Call or send the form
Call (850) 391-6065 on any day of the week, or send the form, and tell us a little about the wall. We'll set a time for me to come out that suits you.
I look the wall over
I come out myself, look the brick over with you and explain what I see before I write anything down. Then you get a written estimate in plain words that lists the walls we'll repoint and the mortar we plan to use, so you know what you're paying for.
Pick a start that suits you
If you decide to go ahead, we set a start date around your schedule. Where the job calls for a permit, we take care of that side of it before work begins.
Do the work, then walk it
The small crew I trained works alongside me, and we clean up as we go, though cutting out joints is dusty, noisy work. When the last joint is done, we walk the finished wall with you before we call it done.
Get a written estimate for repointing your brick
We'll reply within one business day to set a time for me to come out and look at the brick with you. The estimate is free and done on site, and there's no obligation.
(850) 391-6065Brick pointing in Tallahassee and what the city may require
In Tallahassee, the city's Building Inspection Division issues the permits needed to build, renovate or expand a structure. Whether repointing your walls needs one is a question for the division, so we ask before we start instead of guessing. You can call them yourself at 850-891-7001, then option 2 and option 1. Where your job does need a permit, we help you find the office that handles your property and take care of the paperwork for our part of the work. We're licensed and fully insured. If your house sits in the Historic Preservation Overlay, check with the Tallahassee Trust for Historic Preservation as well. The Trust oversees the overlay and reviews Certificate of Appropriateness applications, and it asks owners who apply to have photos of the house as it stands and sketches or product details for the planned work.
Most repointing calls we get around Tallahassee come from owners of older brick homes. The wear is rarely even, and the walls under a roof edge or beside a downspout usually go first. We see the same pattern on brick houses in Bradfordville and Quincy, and we repoint them with the same care.
Brick pointing questions from Tallahassee homeowners
How do I know my brick needs repointing?
Your brick is due for repointing when the mortar has worn back more than ¼ inch from the face. The same goes for mortar that crumbles, has holes or shows hairline cracks, or cracks where brick and mortar meet. Brick industry guidance treats these as the signs that new joints will do the most to keep moisture out. If you see a few of them on one wall, it's worth having me take a look.
Why does the mortar mix matter for my bricks?
The new mortar has to be as weak as the original or weaker, because mortar stronger than the old can make the face of the brick spall and flake away. Mortar comes in several strengths, and the weakest is generally kept for historic masonry, so an older Tallahassee house may call for a softer mix than a newer one. Any mason should be able to tell you what mix they plan to use, and I'll name ours before we start.
What is the best way to remove old mortar from soft or historic brick?
On historic or soft brick, hand chisels and a short, heavy mash hammer are slower but usually carry the least risk of damage. Saws and grinders are more common, and in unskilled hands they can do serious harm to older masonry, soft brick most of all. Ask any mason how they plan to take the mortar out. We do it by hand wherever the wall calls for it.
How long does brick repointing last?
By the brick industry's figures, mortar joints typically last more than 25 years, depending on how exposed the wall is and which mortar was used. The brick itself may last well over 100 years. Mortar wears out long before the brick does, so repointing is ordinary upkeep for a brick house and not a sign that something has failed.
How much does brick pointing cost in Tallahassee?
I can't give you a fair number until I've seen the wall, because the price comes from the joints themselves and not from the size of the house. Soft brick that has to be raked out by hand, a mortar color or joint shape that takes extra work to match, and a two-story wall or chimney that needs scaffolding all add labor. A single low wall you can reach from the ground costs less. My written estimate gives you the figure for your house.
How do I choose a mason for brick repointing in Tallahassee?
Ask to see repointing jobs they've done, or ask for a sample on a hidden part of your wall, because brick industry guidance notes that an excellent bricklayer isn't always skilled at repointing. Laying new brick and cutting out old joints without harming the brick around them are different skills. That's why our test patch goes in before we touch a whole wall.
Masonry work that often goes with repointing
If doors and windows have started sticking or gaps have opened around their frames, the house may be shifting, and that needs steadying before any new mortar.
If bricks at the top of your chimney are loose, the crown is cracked or water stains show near the flue, the chimney needs its own repair.
Have your mortar joints looked at
Call (850) 391-6065 or use the form, and tell us where the mortar is crumbling or cracked and whether your house is in a historic area, so I come out ready with the right questions.