Mortar crumbling or falling out between your bricks? We refill the worn joints so the wall sheds water and holds together.
Tuckpointing, which masons also call repointing, means cutting the worn mortar out of the joints between your bricks and packing them with fresh mortar. In Antioch we do it on brick houses, chimneys, garden walls and steps.
Most people call after they notice sand piling up at the base of a wall, or they run a key along a joint and the mortar crumbles. Mortar is the part of a brick wall that's meant to wear, so it goes long before the brick does. Once it's gone, water gets into the joints, and that's when bricks start to loosen and crack.
The price depends on how much of the mortar is actually worn, how tall the wall is, how easy it is to reach and what shape the brick or foundation underneath is in. The schedule depends on the same things, and on whether the city wants a permit for your job. Your written estimate spells out which joints we'll redo and what we'll leave alone.
Worn mortar is usually a sign of something else going on with the wall. These are the things I check first, because they decide what your wall actually needs.
I'd rather fix why mortar failed than just fill it again. If a downspout dumps on one corner or a sprinkler soaks the same stretch every morning, new mortar there will wear out the same way. I'll show you the cause so you can stop it.
Fresh mortar that doesn't match looks like a patch for years. We mix and shape the new joints to sit as close to the old ones as we can, in color and in profile. If an exact match isn't possible on an older wall, I'll tell you that up front.
A crack that runs through the bricks themselves, or a wall that's leaning or pulling apart, isn't a mortar problem, and repointing won't fix it. When I see that, I'll tell you, because the right fix might be new brick or a look at what's moving underneath.
Here's how a tuckpointing job goes with us, from your first call to the walk-through at the end, and who handles each part.
Call (925) 503-1025, use the form or email team@antiochmasonryandconcrete.com and tell us which wall it is and what you're seeing. Most of the time I'm the one who gets back to you.
I come out, check the joints and the brick, and tell you what I see while we're standing there. Then I send a written estimate that spells out what we'll do and what we won't.
If you go ahead, we handle any permit the job needs. Our crew cuts out the worn joints and packs in new mortar, and I'm on site while they work.
When the joints are done and the site is cleaned up, we walk the wall with you. You see every repaired section and can ask about anything before we call it finished.
We cut out and fill only the joints that are actually worn, not the whole wall, so you aren't paying to redo mortar that's still good. Wear on a wall is rarely even. The stretch under a leaky gutter or next to a sprinkler head goes first, while joints a few feet away can still be tight and hard.
Our crew cuts the old mortar back to solid material, cleans out the joint, packs in new mortar and shapes the face so water runs off it. If some bricks are cracked or flaking along with the mortar, that's brick repair. We can do both in the same job so you're not opening the wall twice.
We also handle the paving around a house. If your front walk or driveway pavers are cracked or settling, mention it when you call and I'll look at them while I'm out for the wall. That way you only have one visit, and you get a straight answer on both before you decide anything.
Fix only the joints that are failing. It costs less up front, and on a wall where most of the mortar is still solid, it's usually the right call. That's where I start.
When most of the joints on one face are worn, doing the whole face at once gives you an even look and saves a second trip for the rest. I'll tell you which one your wall needs.
Send the form and you'll hear back within one business day. I'll set a time to come out, look at the wall and give you a free written estimate at your property. There's no pressure to book.
(925) 503-1025Antioch's Building Services Division issues building permits. Its list of work that doesn't need a permit names sheds, retaining walls, concrete flatwork, landscape sprinkler systems and fence replacements, but not tuckpointing, so the list doesn't settle it for your job. The city also requires Design Review approval for exterior changes to existing buildings. We check with the city before work starts, and if a permit is needed, we pull it and line up the inspections.
California only lets someone without a contractor's license take on small jobs under the state's $1,000 minor work limit. Even then, the work has to need no permit, and they can't have anyone working for them on it. If your job turns out to need a permit, that exemption doesn't apply, so make sure whoever repoints your wall holds a license.
Around Antioch and out in Pittsburg and Brentwood, most of our repointing calls are for brick chimneys, garden and planter walls, brick trim on the front of a house and older brick steps. The work is the same in every city. Only the permit question changes, and we sort that out with whichever city or county office covers your address.
I look at every job myself, and I'm on site with our crew when the work gets done. I started out as a helper, mixing mortar and hauling block long before anyone let me lay a brick. So I know what a good joint looks like, and what a rushed one looks like a few years later.
We've been in business since 2023. We're licensed and insured. Our promise is satisfaction guaranteed on every job. I'll tell you the truth about your wall, even when that means a smaller job than you expected. If your mortar is crumbling, call (925) 503-1025 or send the form and I'll come take a look.
When the bricks themselves are cracked, loose or flaking, new mortar won't hold them, so we replace or reset the damaged ones to match the wall.
If the drive in front of that brick wall is cracked or sinking, pavers give you a surface we can lift and reset in sections instead of tearing it all out.
We're based in Antioch and work in the cities around it, from Concord and Walnut Creek out to Brentwood and Rio Vista. If you're not sure we cover your address, call and ask.
Your wall needs repointing when the mortar has worn back more than 1/4 inch from the brick face, crumbles, has gaps or shows fine cracks. Cracks between the brick and the mortar are a sign too. If you see any of these, it's a good time to have the wall checked.
Across the US, tuckpointing usually costs about $5 to $25 per square foot of wall. That's a national figure, not our price. Where your job falls depends on the things I covered above, mostly how much mortar is worn and how hard the wall is to reach. Your written estimate gives you the number for your wall.
No, only the damaged joints need repair. Original joints that are still in good shape are better than repointed ones. Repointing is slow work done joint by joint, so the job should be planned around the damaged joints and not the whole wall.
The new mortar should be weaker than your brick. Mortar that's stronger than the brick around it can make the brick faces flake off, because the mortar is supposed to be the part that gives. Ask any mason you talk to how their mortar compares with your brick, and I'll tell you what I plan to use at the estimate.
Every few decades, as a rule. Mortar lasts roughly 25 to 50 years, while brick lasts about 100 years or more, so a brick house will need repointing from time to time over its life. That's normal wear, not a sign the house was built badly.
Yes, most masons use both words for the same job, cutting out worn mortar and filling the joints with new mortar. Tuckpointing is also the name of an older decorative finish, where a thin strip of contrasting mortar makes the joints look very thin. When you get a quote, ask which one it covers.
Clear a path to the wall so the joints can be seen up close, including along the bottom. Move pots, furniture or stored things back a few feet. Also think about when you first noticed crumbling, and whether a gutter, downspout or sprinkler hits that wall often.
Call (925) 503-1025 or use the form, and if you can, send a couple of photos of the cracked joints and a rough size of the wall so I know what I'm walking into.
