Tuckpointing in Newport News VA - joints that suit the brick around them
Mortar crumbling out of your brick joints? We rake out the worn joints and refill them with mortar soft enough to protect the brick.
- Licensed and fully insured.
- Free quotes on site.
- Expect a reply within 1 business day.
What is tuckpointing, and does my house need it?
Tuckpointing in Newport News is the work of raking worn mortar out of the joints in your brick and packing fresh mortar in its place, and masons more accurately call it repointing. Done with the right mix, it closes the gaps that let water into the wall and keeps the wear in the joints instead of the brick.
Most people call after they've found sand on a windowsill or a joint they can push a key into. The price turns on how tall the wall is, how far the mortar has worn, what shape the brick behind it is in and how easy it is to reach, so a ground-floor wall and a chimney are very different jobs. The schedule turns on the weather, since fresh mortar needs mild days to set, and on whether your address needs a historic review before we start. When I come out, I'll walk the wall with you and explain what I see before I write up the estimate.
How can you tell your brick joints are wearing out?
Joints sitting behind the brick
The mortar has worn back so the brick edges stick out past it, leaving a little ledge where rain sits. That's usually just age and weather, and the longer it goes, the deeper water gets into the wall.
Mortar that crumbles to sand
If a joint turns to grit when you rub it with your thumb, the binder in the mortar has given out. Left alone, those joints open up and loose bricks follow.
Hairline cracks along brick edges
A thin crack where the mortar meets the brick means the bond has let go, even if the joint still looks full. Water wicks in through that gap, so a wall can get damp long before it looks bad.
Brick faces flaking off
When the fronts of bricks pop off near the joints, water is often getting in, or an older repair was done with mortar harder than the brick. Waiting on this means replacing bricks, not just joints.
How we handle tuckpointing on your house
I start by walking the wall with you and marking only the joints that need redoing, and I'll show you how to tell a worn joint from a sound one so you can keep an eye on it after we're gone. We rake the old mortar out of those joints to a clean, even depth, because fresh mortar won't grip a shallow or dusty joint. New mortar should be no stronger than the old mortar in the wall, and we keep ours softer than the brick around it so the wear stays in the joint, which is cheap to redo, and not in the brick, which isn't. A mix harder than the brick pushes the stress into the brick instead, and the face starts flaking off, which masons call spalling. We pack the joints, shape them to match the old ones and clean the brick face before we leave.
Some walls need more than new joints. A brick that's cracked through or lost its face has to come out, so we handle that as brick repair before we repoint around it, and if the drive leading up to that wall has heaved or sunk, I can look at driveway pavers on the same visit.
Spot repointing
This suits most houses, where the worst joints sit on one weathered side, under a gutter or around a chimney. We redo just those and leave sound mortar alone, since cutting out a good joint only risks chipping the brick for nothing.
Full wall repointing
This suits a wall where most of the joints have gone soft or sit well back from the brick. Doing the whole face at once also gives you one even color and joint shape instead of a patchwork.
Get a tuckpointing estimate for your brick
Send the form and we'll reply within one business day to set a time. I'll come out, look at the joints with you and write up a free estimate on site, with no obligation.
(757) 782-8614- Based in
- Newport News, VA 23606
- Hours
- Mon–Fri: 6 AM–10 PM, Sat–Sun: 8 AM–10 PM
What happens when you call us about tuckpointing?
Here's how a tuckpointing job runs from your first call to the last joint, and who you'll be dealing with at each step.
Call or send the form
Call (757) 782-8614 or send the form, and we'll get back to you to set a time for me to come out. A rough idea of how big the wall is helps me plan the visit.
Walk the wall together
I look at the joints with you, point out which are worn and which are sound, and then write up the estimate. It shows which joints we'd redo, the mortar we'd use and what's driving the price, so you can see where the money goes.
Sort out permits and review
Once you say go, we check with the permit office for your address and handle the permit paperwork when the job calls for it. A historic district or a spot near the water gets flagged early, so any review happens first.
Repoint, clean up, walk through
We rake and refill the joints, clean the brick and walk the finished wall with you. I'll point out what to watch for, so the next time something changes you'll know what you're looking at.
Why Newport News homeowners call K&R for tuckpointing
The person who quotes it works on it
I come out to look at every job myself and write the estimate, and on the job I work alongside our masons. The joints I point out at your wall are the ones I'm standing at when the work gets done.
Six years on lived-in homes
I learned on crews laying brick and block on new houses, then started this business in 2020 to work on homes people already live in. An old wall has its own history, and the fix has to fit what's already there.
Licensed and fully insured
We're licensed and fully insured, so the work on your wall is covered. Virginia law sorts contractors into classes by job size, with Class C covering a single project over $1,000 but under $30,000, which is worth knowing when you compare crews.
If your joints are starting to go, call (757) 782-8614 or send us the form and I'll come take a look.
Tuckpointing and brick repair on Newport News homes
If your house is in Hilton Village or North End/Huntington Heights, the two historic districts in Newport News, check before anyone touches the mortar. In those areas the city's architectural review boards look after the historic character of the buildings, and alterations to existing buildings need their Certificate of Appropriateness before construction or any permit. We check with the city for your address before we start, and if you're in one of those districts we flag it early so any review happens before the work does.
A lot of the older brick we see has been patched before, sometimes with a mix harder than the brick, and that's where the faces start flaking next to the repair. We look for those old patches when we walk the wall, and we see the same mix of original joints and past repairs on jobs in Hampton and Poquoson.
Questions about tuckpointing in Newport News
How do I know if my brick mortar needs tuckpointing?
It's time when the mortar has worn back more than 1/4 inch from the brick face, or when it crumbles, has holes, shows hairline cracks or has pulled away from the brick edges. A quarter inch is about the width of a pencil, so if you can lay one in the joint, that joint is due.
How much does tuckpointing cost in Newport News?
Across the US, tuckpointing usually runs about $5 to $25 per square foot of wall. That's a national figure, not our price, and the spread is wide because things like height and how far the mortar has gone swing it a lot. Your own number comes from the estimate after I've seen the wall.
How long does tuckpointing last?
Mortar joints typically last more than 25 years, though how long depends on how exposed the wall is and what mortar went into it. A wall that takes the weather head-on will usually need attention sooner than a sheltered one, and a mix that suits the brick matters as much as the work.
Do I need approval to tuckpoint a house in Hilton Village or Huntington Heights?
Check first, because exterior alterations in those districts go through the city's review before construction or any permit, as I covered above. For normal, routine exterior repairs and maintenance, an agent in the city's Department of Planning may issue some certificates, and we find out which way your job goes before work starts.
What is the best time of year for tuckpointing?
Mild weather is best, and one mortar maker's guide advises doing masonry work only when air temperatures sit between 40 and 95 degrees Fahrenheit and stay there for at least five weeks afterward. So it's worth planning the job for a stretch of mild weather that holds well after the crew leaves.
What causes mortar joints to crumble?
Mostly water and time, since mortar is the part of the wall meant to wear so the brick doesn't. When worn joints show up alongside stains, flaking brick, damp walls inside or mold, it's worth finding where the water is coming from and fixing that along with the joints, or the new mortar will just wear out again.
Related masonry work for brick homes
Brick repair
Pick this when single bricks are loose, broken or shedding their faces, so we can swap in a matching brick and keep the wall tight.
Driveway pavers
If your poured driveway is cracked or patched, a paver drive gives you units that can be lifted and reset, and it sits well beside brick.
Cities we serve around Newport News
K&R Newport News Concrete & Masonry is based in Newport News, VA, and does tuckpointing in the cities around it, including Williamsburg and Norfolk. The nine cities below have their own pages, and if yours isn't on the list, call and ask.
Newport News, VA
Get your mortar joints looked at
Send a few photos of the joints and tell us if your house is in a historic district, so I come out ready for both the wall and the review.