Masonry Restoration
Many old, historic homes have such beautiful masonry work; however, over the years, mortar joints wear out. This is where masonry restoration comes in, correcting the problems of old mortar joints and restoring the look to its former glory. Not just anyone can do masonry restoration; you should use experienced, trained, and certified masons to do the tuckpointing work needed. At Guaranteed Chimney Services, our masons are experts in masonry restoration work. Many of our customers have asked us exactly what tuckpointing means, and we would like to explain this masonry restoration procedure to you.
According to Masonry Magazine, although these terms had differences in their meanings a century ago, “jointing,” “pointing,” “repointing,” and “tuckpointing” all mean the same thing in our times today. Once referred to as a specialized application of pointing, 100 years ago, tuckpointing meant sanding the bricks down to a smooth surface and repairing the original joint with a thin one, using mortar that matched the bricks in color. For a proper tuckpointing job, there are four important things to consider.
1. The mix
The correct ingredients and their amounts are key to making a mortar for tuckpointing. 100 years ago, the mortar was made of powdered limestone, water, and sand. However, masons were unhappy with this mixture, and in the late 19th century, Portland cement was invented and became the primary component of tuckpointing mortar. The limestone-based mix disappeared at this point. This means that buildings built before 1872 need a lime and sand mixture for tuckpointing, buildings built between 1873 and 1932 need a mixture of lime, Portland cement, and sand for the mortar, and buildings constructed after 1932 can be restored with a strictly Portland cement-based mortar.
2. The sand
Not just any sand will do for the tuckpointing mortar. Our masons will closely inspect the sand on your masonry work and find sand in the area to best match the older sand.
3. The pigments
We always use mineral oxide pigments especially made for masonry work.
4. The joint finish
The right tools and skills are needed to get the right texture on the mortar joint when tuckpointing, and it depends on when the building is built to know exactly which tool to use for this masonry restoration job. If the homes and other buildings were built after 1930, our masons can use the typical rounded tube used by bricklayers in their work. However, for older homes, this tool rarely creates the proper texture. We use a tool called a slicker to make a more recessed joint because the mortar on older buildings have suffered erosion over the years.
At Guaranteed Chimney Services, we also do masonry restoration work on chimney crowns, repairing cracking and spalling. If you need your masonry mortar joints or your chimney crown repaired, contact us today. Our masons are skilled and experienced enough to do excellent masonry restoration work.