Tuckpointing Stone Wall Repair

Demonstrates how to do some brick and mortar repairs aka tuck pointing on your home.

Tuckpointing stone wall repair.

Learn how to repoint stone masonry like a pro. The steps we show here will work on any brick walls chimneys and retaining walls. Tuckpointing won t fix cracking or crumbling bricks or cracks in walls caused by a shifting foundation. To replace large stones that have fallen from the wall lay down a thick bed of mortar and set the stone in place.

Courtesy of the national park service. Https amzn to 39ewasp 3 8 x. The type of mortar used to repair the crumbling joints is the most important factor. Eddie greer of better home inspection and improvements llc.

Tuck pointing a stone foundation wall is a job that requires time patience and a few specialty tools. Newer mortar made of portland cement often has to be ground out with power tools. Tuckpointing is the process of repairing or refilling mortar joints in brick. Then lightly mist the mortar with water and use a soft bristle brush to smooth the mortar flush against each stone.

But you can pick away at it in your free time area by area. The name comes from the action of tucking or packing mortar into the damaged joint with a tool called a tuck pointer mortar joints play a critical role in the structural integrity of a brick wall. This of course costs more money to repair than it does to tuckpoint the mortar joints in the first place as mentioned earlier in point number 4 above. Pack more mortar around the stone.

Repairing old stone walls is an art as well as a practical skill. Older mortar made with lime and sand gives way rather nicely with a hammer and chisel. We determine this by what type of stone the wall is made of and the condition the stone is in. Tuckpointing isn t difficult or expensive the only real investment is your time.

There are many practitioners of this craft but probably few as affable and knowledgeable as ian cramb a scotsman now living in eastern pennsylvania. Well that s it tuckpointing in a nutshell. We take out the crumbling rotting mortar and put new in. The process of fixing crumbling mortar in a stone wall is quite tedious but it s also pretty simple.

Repointing an old brick wall with soft lime mortar.