Tuckpointing in Auburn AL - mortar joints that keep water out of your brick walls
Mortar crumbling, sandy or pulling away from the brick? We find out why, then repoint the joints that need it to suit your house.
- Licensed and insured.
- Free on-site estimates.
- We reply within 1 business day.
Does your brick need tuckpointing, or something more?
Tuckpointing, also called repointing, is the repair of worn mortar joints in a brick wall, and in Auburn, AL, United Auburn Concrete and Masonry does it mainly to keep water from working its way into your walls.
Most people call after they notice sand at the foot of a wall or joints that have sunk back from the brick, and the first thing I want to know is why it happened. The price comes down to how many square feet of joints need work, how deep they've worn and how tall the wall is, since a wall high enough to need scaffolding costs more per square foot to repoint. The schedule turns on whether your home needs city review first and how much of the wall we're redoing, and the estimate I send after looking at your wall says what we'll do and why.
How do you know your mortar joints are failing?
Sand below the wall
If you find gritty sand on the sill or the ground under a brick wall, the mortar is crumbling out of the joints. Every bit that falls out leaves more room for water to get in, and the wall gets wetter each year you wait.
Joints sunk behind the brick
When the mortar sits back from the face of the brick, the joints have been wearing away a little at a time. Waiting lets them wear deeper, so more of each joint has to be dug out and refilled later.
Fine cracks along the joints
Hairline cracks in the mortar, or a gap where it's pulled away from the brick, let water in behind the face of the wall. This is often the first sign you'll see, and the easiest stage to fix.
Stair-step cracks or loose brick
Cracks that step up across the brick, loose or cracked bricks, flaking faces or a leak inside the house mean the damage goes past the mortar. New joints won't fix that, so the cause has to be found and fixed before anyone repoints.
How we do tuckpointing on your house
Before we fill a single joint, I look for why it failed, because new mortar won't help if the brick is cracked or water is getting in some other way. Then we rake out only the joints that are crumbling, cracked or pulled loose, since sound original mortar is worth keeping and this is slow hand work. We mix mortar that's similar to or weaker than your old mortar in strength, because a harder mix can make the face of the brick break off, and I'm glad to do a small test patch somewhere out of sight so you can see the color and joint first. Once you're happy with it, we pack the joints and tool them to match the ones around them.
New mortar only fixes the joints, so where bricks are cracked, loose or flaking, we take care of the brick repair first. Plenty of owners who fix up the front of the house turn to the ground in front of it next, and we lay driveway pavers too.
Spot repointing
This suits a wall where the damage is in patches, like along the base or under a leaky gutter. We repair the failed joints and leave sound original mortar alone, which keeps the cost down and the wall looking like itself.
Full-wall repointing
This suits a wall where most of the joints have worn back or crumbled. It's more labor, but it gives the whole face even joints and one color instead of a patchwork.
Lime mortar for older homes
Brickwork laid before about 1900 most often went up with lime and sand mortar, so on older houses that's where we start when matching the joints. Lab testing of the old mortar adds cost and usually only makes sense on historic projects that have to match closely.
The traditional tuckpointed look
Some older houses were finished with brick-colored mortar and a thin strip of contrasting mortar along each joint, so the joints look very thin. If your house was built that way, that's the style that suits it.
Get a free tuckpointing estimate for your brick
We reply within one business day. I come out, look the wall over and send a free estimate that says what we'll do and why, with no pressure and 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 about tuckpointing in Auburn?
Here's how a repointing job runs from your first call to the last joint, and who you'll be dealing with at each step.
Call or send the form
Call (334) 780-0060 or use the form, and tell us where the joints look worst. That tells me what to look for before I get there.
I come out and look
I look the wall over, ask a lot of questions about leaks, gutters and old patches, and work out why the joints failed. Then I send an estimate that says which joints we'll repoint, what mortar we'll use and why, so you can see exactly what you're paying for.
We handle paperwork and repoint
We take care of the permit paperwork when the job needs it, then rake out the failed joints and pack in the new mortar. I'm on the wall with our crew while the work gets done.
We walk it with you
When we're finished, we walk the wall with you and look at the repaired joints together. If anything doesn't look right to you, that's the time to say so.
Why Auburn homeowners call us about worn mortar
I look at every wall myself
I come out to every job and work alongside our crew on it, so the person who worked out why your joints failed is there when they're filled. Nothing gets lost between the estimate and the work.
Six years of finding causes
I learned brick handing it to my dad on his jobs and started this business in Auburn in 2020, six years ago. The jobs I like best are the ones where nobody's sure why a wall is failing, and that describes a lot of repointing calls.
Licensed and insured on every job
We're licensed and insured. Alabama treats anyone repairing or improving a home on a job costing more than $10,000, labor and materials included, as a residential home builder, so on a large repointing job it's worth asking any contractor about that licence before you hire.
On a repointing job the fix has to match the cause, because a wall patched without knowing why it failed usually needs the same work again. Get in touch and I'll come take a look.
Tuckpointing and brick repair on Auburn homes
In Auburn, permit forms go to the city's Inspection Services Department, and we check with them on whether your repointing job needs a permit before we start. If your home is in a designated Historic District, exterior work that can be seen from a public right-of-way needs a Certificate of Appropriateness from the city. The city's historic design standards also call for repairing worn features instead of replacing them, using the same kind of material as the original, with a substitute allowed only if it looks like the original. That's how we'd want to do it on an older house anyway.
We're based in Auburn and work across the cities around it. On older brick homes here, and on jobs in Opelika and Valley, we often find earlier patches done in a harder mortar than the original, so we cut back only what's failing and match the rest.
Questions about tuckpointing in Auburn, AL
How much does tuckpointing cost in Auburn, AL?
Across the US, tuckpointing or repointing brick usually costs about $500 to $2,500 per 100 square feet of wall. That's the market's range, not our price, and where your wall lands depends on the things covered above, like joint depth and wall height. The estimate I send after seeing your wall gives you our figure.
How do I know if my brick mortar needs repair?
Your mortar needs repointing where it has worn back more than 1/4 inch from the brick face, crumbles, has holes, shows hairline cracks or has pulled away from the brick. Leaks, stair-step cracks, loose or cracked bricks and flaking brick faces point to brick repair instead, and the cause needs fixing before any joints are filled.
How long does tuckpointing last?
Mortar joints typically last more than 25 years, depending on how exposed the wall is and what went into it, while the brick itself can last well over 100 years. That means a brick home may need its joints repaired now and then over its life, so it's worth planning for.
Does a historic district home in Auburn need city approval for tuckpointing?
Not always, because if city staff deem the repointing routine maintenance, no Certificate of Appropriateness is required. When one is needed, the application includes details describing the planned work, and we put those together as part of the permit paperwork.
What is the best time of year to tuckpoint brick?
One national cost guide points to spring or fall, when daytime temperatures stay between 40 and 90 degrees for at least 24 to 72 hours. The same guide says emergency work in winter or extreme heat will likely cost more, so if your joints can wait, planning ahead usually helps.
How do I choose a mason for tuckpointing in Auburn?
Ask to see past repointing jobs or a sample on a hidden part of the wall, because an excellent mason isn't always skilled at repointing. Ask too how they'll match the strength of your old mortar, since that decides whether your brick faces hold up.
Related services for brick homes in Auburn
Brick repair
When bricks are cracked, loose or flaking on the face, fresh mortar won't hold them, so the damaged brick gets reset or replaced before the joints are filled.
Driveway pavers
If your driveway is cracked and stained beside freshly repointed brick, pavers give you a drive that can be fixed one section at a time.
Service areas for tuckpointing around Auburn
United Auburn Concrete and Masonry is based in Auburn, AL, and repoints brick homes across the cities around it, including Tuskegee and Tallassee. The seven cities below have their own pages, and we work in others nearby too.
Auburn, AL
Send us photos of your worn joints
A few photos, the wall's height and whether your home sits in an Auburn Historic District let me show up with the right questions and the right mortar in mind.