Tuckpointing & Mortar Repair in Milwaukee
Tuckpointing/Repointing Services for Southeast Wisconsin
Cracks and mortar deterioration in a building’s structure are common for a lot of older Wisconsin buildings and can end up making your home or business storefront look dilapidated and old. Older masonry can also cause significant structural issues in your building, creating serious problems down the road. The weakest areas on masonry walls are openings such as windows and doors. Naturally, this is where the masonry mortar fails and cracks occur. Even the tiniest crack in a building's mortar can allow water to penetrate an entire chimney or window lintel.
Custom Restoration will properly fix masonry joints with tuckpointing to assure a quality finish. No matter what shape your masonry joints are in, our team of experts can help at an affordable price.
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What is Tuckpointing?
Tuckpointing is when the mortar between bricks is replaced. The space between bricks is called a joint, which the mortar fills. As the mortar deteriorates over time, the joints expand, loosening bricks and eventually causing the masonry to crumble. Tuckpointing helps prevent this.
Tuckpointing allows masonry to blend your repaired bricks with adjacent masonry, making your home or building’s exterior look seamless and beautiful. At Custom Restoration, our team takes pride in making sure the right steps are taken to properly finish all tuckpointed masonry joints to assure a quality finished product!
How to Tell If Your Masonry Needs Tuckpointing
There are two methods for determining if your masonry needs tuckpointing. The first is to call a professional, like us, and get an expert opinion. If you prefer an easy DIY method, take a screwdriver (or something similar) and gently scrape the mortar between the bricks. If you leave behind scratches with a powdery residue or the mortar crumbles easily, you need tuckpointing services.
In bad cases, the masonry will look lopsided. In extreme cases, bricks will begin to loosen. If either of these seems to be the case, it may be too late for tuckpointing to solve the problem. One of our professional masons will be able to determine if you need more extensive masonry repair instead of a tuckpointing service.
There are 3 factors to determine how successful a tuckpointing job will be:
- How skilled and experienced the mason is.
- The techniques, tools, and equipment used.
- The mortar material.
Mortar is available in different colors and qualities. An inexperienced mason with inadequate tools, poor technique, and no consideration of the existing mortar will provide a poor product. On the other hand, experienced masons like the ones at Custom Restoration, use excellent tools, techniques and the correct mortar and will provide beautifully repurposed masonry.