Mortar crumbling or cracked between your bricks? We cut out the worn joints and pack in fresh mortar in the look you choose.
Tuckpointing, which most masons also call repointing, means cutting worn mortar out of the joints in a brick wall and packing in fresh mortar so the joints are full and sound again. In Rancho Cucamonga we do it on brick houses, chimneys and garden walls.
Most of the time the brick itself is fine. Mortar is the softer part of the wall and it gives way first, so you see sandy joints, small cracks or gaps along the edge of a brick long before anything worse. I'd rather you understand your wall before you spend money on it, so I'll show you which joints are worn and which ones still have years left in them.
The price mostly comes down to how many square feet of joints need work, how deep the mortar has worn and how high the wall goes, since a tall wall or chimney means ladders or scaffolding. The look you want matters too, because a thin contrasting line takes a second pass on every joint. The schedule turns on how much wall there is and whether the city needs to see anything first, and the written estimate I send after looking at your wall gives you your own figure.
Here's who does what, from the first look at your wall to the day we pack up.
I come out to your house, go over the joints with you and answer whatever you want to ask, then send a written estimate. I spent years selling brick and block to the masons in this area before starting this business in 2023, so I'm used to explaining why a wall is doing what it's doing.
We're licensed and insured. For this kind of work, California's Contractors State License Board defines the C-29 masonry classification, the one for contractors who install brick, block, stone and concrete units.
Once you say yes, we take care of what the city needs, then I run the work on site with our crew and an experienced mason leads the pointing. Before we leave, we walk the finished wall with you so you can look at every section we touched. Satisfaction guaranteed.
The word tuckpointing covers two different looks, so before I quote, I ask which one you want. Most people mean plain repointing, with new joints matched to the old mortar, but the word also names an older style that pairs a flush, color-matched joint with a thin strip of contrasting mortar. Once we know the look, we mark the worn joints, cut them out, pack in fresh mortar and tool it to match, in the order the steps below lay out.
Sometimes the joints aren't the whole story. Stains, spalled brick, damp spots or mold inside the house mean we need to find where the trouble starts, and a good repair fixes that cause along with the joints, so the job can reach past the mortar. Cracked or broken bricks can be handled as brick repair on the same job, and if the drive along that wall is due too, our crew also lays driveway pavers.
Every wall is a little different, but the work goes in the same order each time.
We go over the wall with you and mark the worn joints, so we cut out what's failing and leave sound mortar alone. Cutting out good joints adds cost without doing anything for the wall.
We clear each worn joint back to firm mortar so the new mortar has something solid to grip. We take our time around the brick edges, because a chipped edge shows once the new joint is in.
We dampen the joint and press the new mortar in firm, in layers when the joint is deep, so it fills with no hollow spots behind it. The color follows the sample you approved.
Once the mortar firms up, we shape each joint to the style you picked and brush loose mortar off the brick face. Then we clear our mess so your yard looks the way we found it.
Send us a few photos of the joints, roughly how big and how tall the wall is, whether your home is listed as a historic landmark, and whether you want plain joints or the contrasting-line look. We reply within one business day, then I come out, look at the wall with you and send a free written estimate with no obligation. If you'd rather talk it through, call (909) 360-4010.
(909) 360-4010Your joints need repointing if the mortar has worn back more than 1/4 inch, is crumbling, has gaps, shows hairline cracks or has cracked away from the brick. Joints typically last more than 25 years while the brick may well last more than 100, so this is upkeep a brick wall needs from time to time. Note where you see these signs before you call, and I'll look at those spots first.
Across the US, tuckpointing or repointing 100 square feet of brick usually costs about $500 to $2,500, which is the national market, not our price. Walls taller than 8 feet that need scaffolding cost more per square foot to repoint than lower walls. Your written estimate gives you the figure for your own wall.
The new mortar should be about as strong as the original mortar, or weaker. Mortar that's stronger can make the face of the brick break away, which masons call spalling, so it's fair to ask any mason how they'll match your old mortar's strength.
Not by much. San Bernardino County guidance encourages repointing as regular chimney maintenance, but says it does little to reduce the risk of damage in future earthquakes. If that's your worry, tell me when I come out and we'll talk through what the joints can and can't do for your chimney.
It can, if your home is a Historic Landmark or a contributing resource, because the city grants a Certificate of Appropriateness for altering or restoring those properties. The Historic Preservation Commission or the Planning Director grants it, and the Planning Director may review chimney and fireplace repairs that use materials of the same kind, type and texture already in use. If your home may be designated, we'll ask you to confirm that with the city's planning office before we start.
In Rancho Cucamonga, the city's Building and Safety Department handles permits, and every permit is applied for online through its Online Permit Center. Before we start, we check what the city asks for on a job like yours, and when a permit is needed, we handle the application and line up the inspections.
We're based in Rancho Cucamonga and do the same work across the cities around it, including Upland, Ontario, Fontana, Chino and more. Most of our calls are about worn brick, a tired chimney or a yard that needs a wall, and if your city isn't listed here, just ask us.
Gapping mortar lets more water into the wall each season, so a call to (909) 360-4010 or a note through the form gets the joints looked at before the brick around them starts to suffer.
If you've got a question about your brick before you want an estimate, send it over and I'll walk you through it.
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