Tuck Pointing

Brick & Stone

Tuck Pointing

We specialize in tuck pointing and repointing

BRICK WALLS

HOMES

FENCES

CHIMNEY

And any other places where brick, stone and mortar joints are used. A good mason will match the mortar color within a couple of shades with his experience. There are many cases where the old mortar must come out of the joints so that the new mortar will stick to the old mortar and brick. This is where experience comes in to play and hiring an inexperienced contractor will cost you double almost every time. A lot of the work we do is correcting previous work on repairs.

Bricks provide durable cladding for interior and exterior walls, chimneys, and fireplaces. But the mortar used to fill joints deteriorates over time—even if the bricks themselves are still in good shape. That’s where tuck-pointing comes into play.

Used to cosmetically enhance the appearance of masonry, tuck-pointing involves removing a portion of the deteriorated mortar, filling the joints with new mortar (that closely matches the color of the brick), and then applying a thin line of putty in a contrasting color down the center of the joint. This creates the illusion of well-maintained and narrow joints. To better understand the tuck-pointing process, it helps to learn the following masonry terms:

POINTING

The process of filling mortar joints during new construction. Pointing also refers to the actual mortar joints—or the spaces between the bricks—in a finished wall.

REPOINTING

The process of removing old mortar from joints and replacing it with new mortar.

TUCKPOINTING

The process of removing old mortar from joints, replacing it with mortar that closely matches the color of the bricks, and then embedding narrow lines of putty in a contrasting color (called “fillets”) down the centers of the new mortar joints. While the terms “tuck-pointing” and “repointing” are often used synonymously, the final products are aesthetically different. Both involve removing and replacing deteriorating mortar with fresh mortar, but repointing does not involve the additional step of applying contrasting lines in the centers of the joints.