Brick pointing in Auburn, AL - mortar joints that keep water out of the wall
Mortar crumbling or sunk back between your bricks? We cut out the bad joints and refill them with mortar matched to your wall.
- Licensed and insured.
- Free on-site estimates.
- We reply within 1 business day.
Does your brick house need repointing?
Brick pointing, or repointing, means cutting the worn mortar out of the joints in your brick and packing in new mortar, and for a brick house in Auburn, AL it's one of the best and longest-lasting ways to keep water out of the wall.
Most people call after they notice sand at the foot of a wall, a joint they can scrape out with a key, or a damp spot inside behind the brick. The mortar is supposed to wear before the brick does, so worn joints on a sound wall are normal upkeep, but I want to know why they wore before we fix them. The price moves with how many joints have failed, how high the work goes, how stubborn the old mortar is and whether the new mix has to match an older wall. The schedule turns on weather the mortar can cure in and, for a house in a historic district, the city's review. The estimate I send after seeing the wall lays out what we'll do and why.
How can you tell your brick joints are failing?
Mortar sunk behind the brick
When the joints sit back from the face of the brick, the weather has been eating the mortar away. Water sits in those recesses and works into the wall, so a few bad joints left alone tend to turn into a whole side of the house.
Crumbling or sandy joints
If the mortar powders when you scratch it, or you keep finding sand along the base of the wall, it has lost its grip on the brick. Joints like that let rain straight in, and the longer they go, the more of them we end up cutting out.
Hairline cracks and holes
Fine cracks through a joint, gaps where the mortar has pulled off a brick's edge, or open holes are all paths for water. A crack that steps across several rows or runs through the bricks themselves can mean the wall is moving, and pointing alone won't fix that.
How we handle brick pointing
I start by looking at the whole wall, not just the bad joints, because pointing over a crack that's still moving only buys a little time. Then we cut out only the joints that have gone bad and leave the good ones in place, since sound original mortar holds up better than anything put back in. National guidance written for historic buildings says old mortar should come out to at least 2 to 2½ times the joint width so the new mortar bonds, and that hand chisels are slower but usually safest on thin joints because power saws almost always chip brick edges, so it's fair to ask any mason how deep they'll cut and what they'll cut with. We match the new mortar to your wall instead of grabbing the strongest mix, because mortar harder than the old stresses older brick until its face flakes off, which masons call spalling. Older and newer brick often need different mortar types, and on an older house a sample of the old mortar can go to a lab so the new mix comes as close to the original as possible. We pack the joints, shape them to match the rest of the wall and clean the brick before we leave.
Joints that keep failing in the same spot usually mean the wall is moving, and if settling under the house is the cause, we'll talk about foundation repair before we point anything. Chimneys take more weather than any wall on the house, so if yours is shedding mortar too, we can take care of the chimney repair while our crew is already set up.
Older brick with soft original mortar
This suits older houses where the first mortar was softer than anything sold in a bag today. We go slower here and keep the new mix no harder than the old, so the joints give before the brick does.
Newer brick homes
Newer houses usually have harder brick and modern mortar, so the mix we use is different from what goes on an old wall. The work is the same idea, cutting out the bad joints and matching what's already there in color and finish.
Get a brick pointing estimate for your Auburn home
Send the form and we'll get back to you within one business day to set a time. I'll come look at the wall in person, and the estimate is free with no obligation.
(334) 780-0060- Based in
- Auburn, AL 36830
- Hours
- Mon–Fri: 7 AM–10 PM, Sat–Sun: 8 AM–9 PM
What happens after you call us about brick pointing?
Here's how a pointing job runs from your first call to the final walk-through, and who you'll be dealing with at each step.
Call or send the form
Call (334) 780-0060 or fill out the form, and we'll set a time for me to come out. A few photos of the worn joints help me know what I'm walking up to.
I look the wall over
I come out myself, look at the joints and the wall around them, and ask a lot of questions about leaks, cracks and past repairs. The estimate I send says which joints we'll cut out, what mortar we'll use and why, so you can see what you're paying for.
We cut out and repoint
If your house needs the city's sign-off first, we handle that paperwork before anyone picks up a chisel. Then our crew and I clear the bad joints, pack in the new mortar and keep the work area clean as we go.
We walk it together
When we're done, I walk the wall with you so you can see every repointed joint before we call it finished. New mortar can look a shade different while it cures, so I'll tell you what to expect over the next while.
Why Auburn homeowners call United Auburn Concrete and Masonry for pointing
I look at every wall myself
I come out to look at every job, and I work alongside our crew when we do it. The person who worked out why your joints failed is the one on the wall making sure the fix matches.
In business since 2020
I learned this trade handing brick to my dad on his jobs, and I started this business in 2020. Most of our calls come from owners of older brick homes, so working out why old joints gave up is everyday work for us.
We repair before we replace
Auburn's historic design standards ask for worn features to be repaired rather than replaced, and that's how we treat a brick wall on any house. We keep every sound joint and brick we can, so the wall still looks like your house when we leave.
Licensed and insured on the job
We're licensed and insured. That matters when our crew is up on ladders or scaffolding against your house, and it's a fair thing to ask any mason you're considering.
Call (334) 780-0060 or send us a few details about your wall, and I'll come take a look.
Brick pointing on older homes and historic districts in Auburn
If your home sits in one of Auburn's historic districts, exterior work that can be seen from a public street or sidewalk needs a Certificate of Appropriateness from the City of Auburn, unless city staff deem it routine maintenance. Whether a repointing job counts as routine is the staff's call, so we check with the city for your address and take care of the paperwork when the job needs it. The city's historic design standards also ask for materials of the same kind as the original, with a substitute only when it looks like the original, which is one more reason we match new mortar to the old instead of grabbing whatever's on the shelf.
A lot of the pointing we do around Auburn is on older brick homes where the joints have worn back on the sides that take the most rain while the brick itself is still sound. We see the same on jobs in Opelika and Tuskegee, and we handle it the same way.
Questions about brick pointing in Auburn
How do I know if my brick needs repointing?
Your brick needs repointing when the mortar has worn back more than 1/4 inch from the face, crumbles, has holes in it, or shows hairline cracks or cracks along the edges of the brick. Check the side of the house that takes the most weather first, and if you're not sure what you're looking at, I can come take a look.
How long does new mortar last after repointing?
Mortar joints typically last more than 25 years, depending on how exposed the wall is and what mortar was used. The brick around them can last well over 100 years, which is why the joints are the part that gets renewed while the brick stays.
Do I need approval to repoint a house in an Auburn historic district?
Often, yes, because exterior work you can see from a public street or sidewalk needs the city's Certificate of Appropriateness unless staff deem it routine maintenance. Staff decide which side of that line a pointing job falls on, so we check with the city before we start, as covered above.
What is the best time of year to repoint brick in Alabama?
Spring and fall are usually best, because one national cost guide puts ideal curing weather for mortar at daytime temperatures between 40 and 90 degrees. The same guide says emergency work in winter or extreme heat will likely cost more.
How much does brick pointing cost in Auburn, AL?
The cost follows how many joints have failed, because repointing is mostly hand labor, with each bad joint cut out and refilled one at a time. Guidance for historic buildings warns the work is likely to be lengthy and expensive on older buildings, partly because it starts with time spent finding the cause, and your estimate spells out what we'll do and why.
Is tuckpointing the same thing as repointing brick?
Mostly, yes, since people use both words for cutting out worn mortar and filling the joints with new, though repointing guidance calls tuck pointing the less accurate name. If you've been quoted for tuckpointing, ask what the mason plans to do so you're comparing the same work.
Other masonry work that often goes with pointing
Foundation repair
When cracks step through the brick or keep coming back after repointing, the wall may be moving, and the fix has to start at the footing underneath.
Chimney repair
A chimney stands out in every storm, so its joints and crown often wear out years before the walls of the house, letting water run down inside.
Service areas for brick pointing around Auburn
United Auburn Concrete and Masonry is based in Auburn, Alabama, and does brick pointing across the cities around it, including Opelika and Valley. These 7 areas have their own page here, and they aren't the only places we work.
Auburn, AL
Get your brick joints looked at
Have your address, a few photos of the worn joints and whether you're in a historic district ready, and I'll know what to look for before I get there.