How to Maintain Brick Tuckpointing:

Anyone who owns a brick home should keep two things in mind about maintaining the tuckpointing and brick:

1.) Take a look at your walls a couple of times a year and check for settling cracks, deteriorated joints in the mortar between bricks (Tuckpointing) or missing mortar joints.

While mortar is a strong building material, time and weather (especially in Saint Louis) can break it down, causing the joints to crack, pop out or (over a longer amount of time) turn to dust. It’s important to keep the joints in the wall solid to deter water entry. A simple tuckpointing job can sometimes turn into a brick laying job if left ignored too long. Over time a small opening in the mortar joint can cause brick movement from water entering through during freeze/thaw cycles of winter and spring. Nobody wants that.

2.) Every 5-10 years have a masonry waterproofer applied to the exterior brick, stone and tuckpointing work of your home. (more…)