Tuckpointing in Athens GA - sound mortar joints that protect your old brick
Mortar crumbling or sanding out of your brick joints? We clear out the worn mortar and refill the joints so your wall is tight again.
Is it time to tuckpoint the brick on your Athens house?
Tuckpointing, which masons also call repointing, means taking the worn mortar out of the joints in your brick and packing new mortar in its place. In Athens, GA, it's how we keep an older brick wall tight and sound without tearing anything down.
Most people call us after they notice mortar sanding out of the joints, a few cracks running along the brick, or a wall that looks patchier than it used to. We're based in Athens and work across the cities around it, with Commerce, Jefferson, Monroe and Winder among them, and a lot of what we see is older brick that has simply outlasted its mortar. The price turns mostly on how many joints are really worn, how hard the wall is to reach and whether some cracked bricks need brick repair too, while the schedule depends on the weather and on any historic review your address needs. The estimate I write after looking at your walls says what we'll do and why.
What happens after you call us about tuckpointing?
Call or send the form
Call (706) 395-0746 or use the form on this page and tell us which walls are bothering you and what you've noticed. We'll get back to you and set a time for me to come out.
Look at the joints together
I come out myself, look at the walls with you, listen to what you've noticed and show you which joints are worn and which are still fine. Then I write up an estimate that says what we'll do and why, so you know what the price covers before you decide.
Permits, then the work
Once you say yes, we take care of any permit or historic review the job needs, and our crew does the work with me right alongside them. Good pointing is slow, careful and noisy, and on a tall wall, scaffolding may stay up across the face of the house for a while.
Walk the finished wall
When the joints are done and the brick is cleaned off, we walk the finished wall with you and answer anything you want to ask. The work is backed by our satisfaction guarantee.
How we do tuckpointing, and the work that often goes with it
Tuckpointing is its own skill, apart from laying new brick, and it's the part of the trade I put the most work into relearning. We start by walking your walls with you and pointing out which joints are actually worn, so you can see what you're paying for and which sections can be left alone. Before any mortar comes out, we look for why those joints wore, like a gutter spilling down one corner, because I'd rather fix what's really wrong than repoint the same spot twice. Then we take the old mortar out carefully so the brick edges don't get chipped, and pack the joints with a mortar weaker than your brick. That last part matters more than people think, because when the mortar is stronger than the brick, the brick faces can spall and flake away, damaging the very wall the work was meant to save.
Worn joints often come with other problems, so we look at the whole wall while we're there. If some bricks have cracked along with the mortar, we handle that as brick repair alongside the pointing so the new joints aren't set against a broken brick. And since a freshly pointed house can make a tired driveway stand out, some homeowners also have us lay driveway pavers that sit well beside the brick.
Get a tuckpointing estimate for your walls
We reply to every call and message within one business day to set a time, and then I come out, look at your walls with you and write up a free estimate at your property. It's obligation-free, so you can read it over and decide in your own time.
Tuckpointing questions from Athens homeowners
When does my brick need tuckpointing?
Your brick usually needs tuckpointing when the mortar has worn back more than ¼ inch from the face, is crumbling, or shows hairline cracks or holes, and also when bricks are cracking along with the joints. You can check a few joints yourself with a tape measure. When I come out, we go over those same signs wall by wall so you can see where the line falls.
What causes mortar joints to wear out before the brick does?
Mortar has a much shorter life than brick, roughly 25 to 50 years against 100 years or more, so a well-built brick wall outlives its joints and needs repointing over time. On an older house, worn joints are usually a sign of age rather than a bad wall, though we still look for anything that sped the wear along.
How much does tuckpointing cost in Athens, GA?
The cost comes down to how much of the wall really needs new joints, how deep the wear goes and how hard the wall is to reach, so there's no honest number until someone looks. Pointing only the worn sections costs less than redoing a whole wall, while a tall wall that needs scaffolding, mortar matched to older joints or cracked bricks that need replacing will add to it. The written estimate covers your walls specifically, with what we'll do and why.
Does my historic Athens home need county approval for tuckpointing?
It can, because Athens-Clarke County requires a Certificate of Appropriateness before exterior changes to a property in a local historic district or to a local historic landmark. With 16 local historic districts and 44 landmarks in the county, it's worth checking your address before work is scheduled. When a job needs it, we take care of the application, and we'll bring it up early so the review fits into your plans.
How do I choose a contractor for tuckpointing?
Choose someone with real repointing experience, because a good bricklayer isn't automatically good at repointing. Ask about their pointing work in particular and how they get the old mortar out without power tools damaging the brick around it. In Georgia, contracting work costing $2,500 or more also needs a state license, in the residential or general contractor categories, and we're fully licensed and insured.
Can you tuckpoint brick in cold weather?
Usually not on the coldest days, since a federal guide for historic buildings holds pointing until the surface and air are expected to stay above 40 degrees F for at least 8 hours after the mortar goes on. That guide was written for historic buildings, but it's a sensible line for an older house too, so a cold snap can move the schedule.
Other masonry work that often comes up
Brick repair
When bricks have cracked or their faces have flaked off, they need replacing before new joints go in, or the fresh mortar sits beside a weak spot.
Driveway pavers
If your brick house looks sharp again but the driveway out front is cracked or tired, pavers give you a surface that suits the brick.
Send us photos of your worn joints
Call (706) 395-0746 or send the form with a few photos and a note on whether your house is in a local historic district, so I can come out already knowing what to look at.