Tuckpointing the chimney on your home in Sunny Isles Beach
Damaged bricks found during raking are shown to you and priced as their own item.
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Clues that the chimney mortar is failing
- White deposits that keep coming back
- Loose brick where joints have washed out
- Thin mortar smeared over old joints
- Joint profile worn flat or recessed
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Choosing mortar for a chimney repoint
Testing chimney joints by light scraping
Looking at a joint tells part of the story. Brick industry guidance adds a simple test, which is scraping the mortar lightly with a metal tool. Sound mortar resists. Weak mortar powders or comes away in grains.
We scrape suspect joints across each face rather than judging by color alone. Some joints look fine and are soft underneath, while others look worn and are still firm. The test lets us draw the repointing boundary around mortar that has actually failed, not around joints that only look old.
When a mortar analysis may help
For some chimneys, the original mortar is unusual enough that a laboratory analysis is worth considering. Brick industry and federal preservation guidance both describe testing hardened mortar to identify its ingredients and sand.
Federal preservation guidance treats it as useful rather than essential. Brick industry guidance recommends testing when the original mortar type is unknown. If your chimney has special significance or an unusual mortar, ask about analysis during the inspection. We explain what it could add and what it cannot tell you.
Cracks between the brick and the mortar
Sometimes the mortar is sound but has pulled away from the brick along a joint. Brick industry guidance lists cracks between brick and mortar among the conditions that call for repointing. They can let water into the wall.
Federal preservation guidance notes that a crack along the bond line is easier to repair than one through the brick itself. We rake out those joints and repoint them. We also look for the cause, since repeated bond cracks can point to movement or to mortar that was too hard.
Mortar is meant to give before the brick
Federal preservation guidance describes mortar as the sacrificial part of a masonry wall. It takes the stresses of movement and moisture so the bricks do not, and it is renewed from time to time while the bricks remain.
That idea shapes every repointing choice we make. A joint that wears out over time has done its job. A brick that cracks because the joint was too strong has not. We choose materials that keep that order, so the brick in your chimney can outlast more than one round of joint repair.
The tuckpointing items you approve
- Pre-hydrated mortar placed in thin layers
- Separate lines for crown or flashing work
- Aftercare notes for the fresh joints
- Workmanship warranty on the agreed joints
Answers about chimney repointing
How do you decide which chimney joints need repointing?
We look at every face and test suspect joints by scraping lightly with a metal tool. Eroded, crumbling, hollow or cracked mortar is marked, along with cracks where mortar has let go of the brick. The estimate shows the areas we propose.
Can you repoint only the worst joints on the chimney?
Sometimes. Where damage is confined, spot repointing can be sensible. Brick industry guidance also suggests repointing every joint in an affected area, because it is hard to tell which joints admit water. We explain the boundary we recommend.
How does the 72-hour window work on repointing?
If you approve the repointing, or anything else on the estimate, before 72 hours have gone by since your free inspection, we take 10% off. The clock starts at your own visit.
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Chimney & Fireplace Brands We Work With
DuraVent 
Olympia Chimney and Venting 
Copperfield Chimney Supply 
Rutland 
Heatilator 
Heat & Glo