Question 1

Is tuckpointing the same as repointing?

Accepted Answer

No. Repointing replaces failed mortar and is maintenance. Tuckpointing is a decorative finish applied over the joint, priced by joint length rather than wall area, and it is a specialist skill that most bricklayers do not have.

Question 2

How much does tuckpointing cost in Perth?

Accepted Answer

It is priced by metre of joint, and joint length, access and scaffold requirements move it more than the size of the house does. We are not publishing a range until we have one we can stand behind — see the costs section above.

Question 3

My wall has a crack. Is it serious?

Accepted Answer

Use the diagnosis section above as a first pass. Cracks running through bricks, widening toward the top, or changing recently are the ones to get looked at by an engineer rather than a bricklayer.

Question 4

Can I just render over it?

Accepted Answer

Rendering over failed mortar or a moving wall hides the problem rather than fixing it, and render shows movement cracking readily. Deal with the cause first.

Question 5

My house was tuckpointed and someone has repointed over it. Can it be fixed?

Accepted Answer

It can be reinstated, but it is restoration work rather than maintenance and it is priced accordingly.

Question 6

What is the white powder on my bricks?

Accepted Answer

Efflorescence — salts carried to the surface by moisture and left behind when the water evaporates. On new brickwork it is normal and weathers off. On established brickwork it means water is repeatedly getting into the wall, and the thing to find is the water source rather than to treat the powder. Do not seal or paint over it.

Question 7

Why are the faces coming off my bricks?

Accepted Answer

Usually salt attack. Salts crystallise inside the brick just under the surface and the pressure eventually blows the face off. In Perth the salt commonly comes from bore water reticulation spraying the wall, from coastal exposure, or from groundwater rising through the base. A hard cement repoint makes it worse by forcing moisture to leave through the brick instead of the joint.

Question 8

Can I use cement mortar on an old brick wall?

Accepted Answer

You should not. Cement mortar is harder and less permeable than old brick, so the wall's movement and moisture are both forced through the brick face rather than through the joint. The damage takes a few years to appear and is not reversible. The mortar should always be softer than the brick.

Question 9

How do I know if my house is tuckpointed or just repointed?

Accepted Answer

Look closely at a joint on the front facade in good light. Tuckpointing has a fine raised ribbon of contrasting colour, usually white or near-white, sitting on top of a joint coloured to match the brick, and the ribbon is a consistent width. Ordinary pointing is a single mortar colour, tooled to a profile, with no ribbon.

Question 10

What are weep holes and can I fill them in?

Accepted Answer

The open gaps in the mortar along the bottom course of an external wall. They drain and ventilate the cavity in a double brick wall, which is most of Perth. Do not fill, render or seal them, and do not let a garden bed or paving cover them — blocking them is a common cause of internal damp on an external wall.

Question 11

Can bricks be matched for a repair?

Accepted Answer

Sometimes with new brick, often only with salvaged brick. Some older Perth brick is no longer manufactured, and older brick is frequently a different size to the current standard, so it will not course in. Matching then means sourcing genuine period brick in the right colour, size and condition, which takes time and is a legitimate reason for a small repair to be quoted higher than expected.

Question 12

How long should repointing last?

Accepted Answer

There is no fixed number, and heritage conservation guidance from the SPAB, the UK's Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings, deliberately avoids giving one — good repointing is judged on condition, not a calendar. The trigger for redoing it is mortar that has weathered back to a depth equal to the joint width, or gone loose, not a fixed age. What actually decides how long a repoint lasts is exposure — a sheltered wall outlasts one facing driving rain or salt spray by a wide margin — and workmanship: correct mortar mix, a proper rake-out depth and real curing are what get you decades rather than a few years. Skimped work on any of those three is the usual reason a repoint fails early.

Tuckpointing, repointing and brick repairs in Perth