Brickwork | Stone Masonry | Repointing | Chimneys and Fireplaces
RBQ. 5756-4098-01
Mortar Joint Repointing
You've come to the right place if you are in need of mortar joint repairs. Maximum Precision specializes in all types of repointing including, stones, brick, fireplaces, skinny joints, expansion joints and specialty mortar joints.
Repairing Damaged Mortar joints
Not all repointing work is done the same way, and the difference is especially visible in stone masonry. Many companies simply fill joints with hard, mismatched mortar or apply surface patching that fails prematurely and detracts from the appearance of the stone.
Our repointing process focuses on proper joint depth, clean lines, and the correct mortar composition to match the original masonry and allow the wall to breathe. The before-and-after photo shows how expert stone pointing restores definition, durability, and architectural character resulting in a cleaner, longer lasting finish that protects your building rather than damaging it over time.
Water the culprit
Just like with damaged bricks, too much water coming into contact with a masonry structure will cause it's mortar joints to degrade. Over time, mortar joints can crack, erode, or crumble, allowing moisture to penetrate the wall and cause further damage such as spalling bricks and interior leaks.
We can see in this photo that the chimney has no metal or concrete crown installed. This lack of a chimney crown causes precipitation to roll down the face of the bricks thus causing damage.
How is repointing done?
Repointing starts by us protecting the work site and surrounding area. Then, we mechanically remove the exterior 1 inch of the mortar joint. We clean the lip of loose debris to improve adhesion of the new mortar. We then repoint the mortar joint with an appropriate mortar mixture often with adhesive agents to improve bonding. Sometimes, we will use a softer mortar for older walls or historic projects.
The Perfect Mortar Joint Finish
Reference Information
Repointing
If the wall is in a good state and just the mortar joints are damaged, we can just remove the damaged mortar joints and refill them with new mortar, this action is called REPOINTING or POINTING. To remove the damage joints we use a grinder. Grinding usually makes a lot of dust but we have good techniques to set up protections from the dust.
This is what a wall with a damaged mortar joints looks like:
Repointing involves:
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Removing damaged mortar & remove broken bricks
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Cleaning the joints
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Optional: Patching of brick faces with Color matching Cement patch
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Filling the joints with fresh mortar
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Cleaning wall of left over mortar extrusions if applicable
The mortar is carefully matched to the existing color of the building.
This is what a grinder and grinding looks like:
This is what pointing (applying new mortar in the now empty mortar joint) looks like. It can be done using masonry tools or with a bag (like putting icing on a cake):
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