Make sure your chimney is secure, structurally sound, and looking great with tuckpointing services by Windy Chimney Services. Serving Schaumburg, Illinois and other surrounding areas of Chicagoland. Repointing is the proper term for what most call tuckpointing, the repair of the masonry that keeps your brick chimney strong and free of hazards like leaks.
Repointing & Pointing Brick Chimneys
Repointing is the process of renewing the “pointing,” which is the external part of mortar joints, in masonry construction. Repointing is also called pointing, or pointing up, although these terms more properly refer to the finishing step in new construction.
What Is Tuckpointing?
Tuck-pointing is a way of using two contrasting colors of mortar in the mortar joints of brickwork. One-color matches the bricks themselves, to give an artificial impression that very fine joints have been made.
Tuck-pointing is needed when your mortar joints (or mortar bonds) begin: falling, splitting, cracking, or deteriorating to any extent. If you notice this, it is important to have it corrected immediately. Putting off the repair will cause major damage down the road and a chimney rebuild due to deterioration.
Gaps In Mortar Causes Water Problems
Over time, weathering and decay cause voids in the joints between masonry units, usually in bricks, allowing the undesirable entrance of water. Water entering through these voids can cause significant damage through frost weathering and from salt dissolution and deposition.
How Does Chimney Tuckpointing Work?
It’s important to get each of these steps done correctly in order to ensure that your repairs will last for years to come.- Grind out all spots in need of tuck-pointing with a high powered grinder, to no less than 3/4’s of an inch.
- Brush and/or wash area of all excess mortar, sand and dust; completely cleaning off joints to be tuck-pointed.
- Use proper mortar mix and water combination.
- Fill joints with new mortar using proper tools.
- Wait for the appropriate time and then strike the joints.
- Brush off any loose mortar from bricks and/or mortar joints.
Keys To A Successful Repair
Grinding the old mortar out is very important. When you don’t grind out the old mortar, there is a greater chance you will need another tuckpointing service in the near future because of gaps left under the surface.
A correct mortar mix is equally as important to any step, if not the most important. Our masons use the correct mortar type and water combinations for an optimal mixture.
Filling the joints correctly, our masons are very careful not to coat the bricks with mortar. This helps ensure a nice clean finish that looks great.
Striking the joints is very important because it ensures that water or snow cannot sit on the top of the mortar. It also acts as a slide to repel the water off the mortar. Bricks typically are a lot more resilient to water than mortar.
Schedule Chimney Tuckpointing In Chicagoland
Call to schedule an inspection today. Protect and repair your brick and mortar chimney with tuckpointing services by Windy Chimney Services. Serving Schaumburg, Illinois and other surrounding areas of Chicagoland. After your tuck-pointing is completed, we always advise you to waterproof it with our special repellent.
