Brick pointing in College Station TX - new mortar joints that match the old ones
Mortar crumbling or gapping between your bricks? We rake out the worn joints and refill them with mortar matched to the old.
- Licensed and insured.
- Free in-person estimates.
- We reply within 1 business day.
Does your brick need repointing, and what does the job involve?
Brick pointing, which most people call repointing, means cutting the worn mortar out of your brick joints to a set depth and packing in fresh mortar. In College Station, it's how we seal a tired brick wall again with joints that bond well and stay in place instead of popping out.
Maybe one side of the house has started to look rough, or you keep finding mortar grit along the bottom of the wall and wonder how far it goes. The price comes down to how much wall needs it, whether any brick has to be fixed first and how high the work goes, since taller walls that need scaffolding cost more per square foot to repoint. Those same things set the schedule, along with anything the city wants for your address before we start. If you're seeing loose or broken brick too, that's brick repair, and it comes first. Your own figure comes from the written estimate, which spells out the work and the materials for your wall.
How can you tell your brick joints are wearing out?
Joints sunk behind the brick
If the mortar sits back from the brick face so there's a little ledge in every joint, it has worn down and water has an easier way in. Left alone, the wear spreads along the wall, and there are more joints to cut out by the time you call.
Mortar that crumbles to sand
Drag a key along a joint, and if the mortar scratches out like dry sand, it has lost its grip on the brick. Those joints let go a little more each year, and once enough mortar is gone, bricks can start working loose.
Thin cracks along the brick
Hairline cracks in the mortar, or a fine line where the mortar has pulled away from a brick, mean the joint isn't sealed anymore. Caught early, it's usually a mortar job, but water working into those gaps can start costing you brick too.
How we handle brick pointing, from the first joint to the last
First I make sure the damage stops at the mortar, because loose or cracked brick has to be fixed before we repoint or the new joints won't hold up. Then our crew cuts the old mortar out of each bad joint to an even depth, clears out the dust and packs in fresh mortar, tooling it to the same shape as your old joints. We match that mortar to the old in color and keep it no stronger than what's already in the wall, because mortar harder than the brick can make the brick face break away. If only some joints are bad, we fix those and leave the sound ones alone.
Cracks that climb a wall like stairs, or brick that keeps working loose, usually mean something underneath is moving, and I'd rather point you to foundation repair than fill joints that will just open again. Chimneys are the other place we find worn mortar sitting next to bigger problems, so if the joints up top look rough, it's worth having us look at the whole stack as part of our chimney repair work.
Spot repointing
This suits a house where the wear shows up in patches, such as one wall or a few rows near the ground. We cut out and refill only the bad joints, so you're not paying to redo mortar that's still doing its job.
Full repointing of a wall
This suits a wall where most of the joints are worn back or cracking. Doing the whole face at once gives you one even color and joint line instead of a patchwork, and it's usually better value than coming back for patch after patch.
Your repointing estimate, written after I see the wall
We get back to you within one business day to set a time to look at your brick at your house. The estimate is free, it's done on site, and there's no obligation to go ahead.
(979) 393-7020Brick pointing in College Station and what the city asks first
In College Station, the city's Building Division issues building permits. Its list names new structures, remodels and renovations, not brick pointing, so the list doesn't settle whether your job needs one, and the Building Division is the place to ask. The city also wants contractors registered with it before it issues a building permit, though a homeowner working on a home they own and live in as their homestead may get one without registering. Before we start, we find out what the city asks for at your address. When a permit is ours to pull, we pull it and set up the inspections, and if you'd rather pull it yourself on your own home, we'll tell you what the city will want to see.
If your house sits in one of the city's historic preservation overlay districts, exterior changes need a Certificate of Appropriateness from the Landmark Commission, and routine maintenance may be approved by the Historic Preservation Officer instead. Most of what we repoint here is ordinary brick homes where one stretch of mortar has gone tired while the rest is fine, and since we're based in College Station and work across the cities around it, we see the same thing on jobs in Bryan and Navasota.
What happens after you call about brick pointing in College Station?
Call or send the form
Call (979) 393-7020 or fill out the form with a line about your wall. We'll set a time that works for you.
Walk the wall with me
I come out myself and look the joints over with you. I'll show you what I'd repoint, what I'd leave alone and anything underneath that needs fixing first.
Get your written estimate
You get a written estimate that spells out the work and the materials, so you can see where your money goes before anyone picks up a trowel. We also sort out the city side before the work starts.
We repoint, then walk it
Our own crew of masons does the work, and I check the joints as it goes. At the end we walk the wall together, and we leave the place clean.
Frequently asked questions
How do I know if my brick needs repointing?
Your brick likely needs repointing when the mortar has worn back more than ¼ inch from the brick face, crumbles, has gaps or shows hairline cracks. A crack between the brick and the mortar counts too, even if the mortar itself looks solid. A ruler laid across a joint tells you about the worn-back part in a few seconds.
How much does brick repointing cost in College Station?
Repointing brick across the US usually costs about $500 to $2,500 per 100 square feet, and that's the market's range, not our quote. Where your job lands depends on the things I covered near the top of this page, mainly how much wall, how high it goes and whether brick needs fixing first. Your written estimate spells out the work and materials for your wall.
How do I choose a contractor for brick repointing?
Pick a crew with real repointing experience, because brick industry guidance says only qualified, experienced repointing craftspeople should do this work, and an excellent mason isn't automatically one. Ask any contractor to show you repointing they've done, us included, and look at whether the new joints blend with the old.
How long does repointed mortar last on a brick house?
Mortar joints typically last more than 25 years, while the bricks can last well over 100, so a brick wall usually outlives its mortar. How soon the joints wear depends on how exposed the wall is and what mortar was used. Repointing an older house is normal upkeep, not a sign something was done wrong.
What is the difference between surface grouting and repointing?
Surface grouting only treats the face of the joints, and it can't stand in for repointing, where the old mortar is cut out and replaced. Preservation guidance for historic buildings doesn't recommend grouting on historic masonry. If two bids look far apart, check whether one is for grouting, because that describes a smaller job than full repointing.
What is the best way to repoint an old brick house in College Station?
On old or historic brick, the best way is precise, slow work by someone careful with the brick, because preservation guidance warns that power tools in unskilled hands can be disastrous for historic masonry, especially soft brick. The same guidance says power saws almost always break brick edges on thin-jointed walls, so ask any crew how they remove the old mortar. Expect noise and, on a big wall, scaffolding that stays up a while, and if the house is in a historic overlay district, the city approval I described above comes first.
College Station, TX
Send us a photo of your joints
A few photos of the worn joints, the height of the wall and whether your house is in a historic district help me come out ready to talk about your job.