Brick pointing in Manchester, NH - new joints that match your brick and protect it
Mortar crumbling, sunk back or cracked between your bricks? We clear the worn joints and repoint them with mortar that suits your brick.
- Licensed and fully insured.
- Free on-site estimates.
- We respond within 1 business day.
Does your brick house need pointing, and what does the job involve?
Brick pointing in Manchester, NH, also called repointing, means clearing worn mortar out of the joints between your bricks and filling them with new mortar, so the wall sheds water again while bricks that usually outlast their mortar by a long way stay right where they are.
Most calls start with mortar that's crumbling or sitting back behind the brick, and the real question is whether it's one bad spot or the whole house. The price mostly turns on how much wall needs work, how high it goes and how soft the brick is, and the schedule turns on weather the new mortar can set in and any permit or review the city wants. If some bricks are cracked or loose too, we fix those as brick repair along with the joints. When I come out, I walk the wall with you, explain what I see and put your own figure in writing.
How can you tell your brick joints need pointing?
Mortar sunk behind the brick
The joints sit back from the brick edges instead of filling them, which usually means weather has worn the mortar away a little each year. The longer it goes, the deeper water can reach into the wall, and the more joints you'll end up paying to clear.
Mortar that crumbles like sand
If a key or screwdriver scrapes the mortar out easily, it has lost its bond and isn't holding the bricks the way it should. Left alone, bricks near the corners, steps and chimney start to loosen, and loose brick is a bigger job than worn joints.
Holes and gaps in joints
Missing chunks of mortar leave open pockets where water, ice and insects get in. Each gap tends to grow from its edges, so a few holes this year often become a full section next year.
Hairline cracks along the bricks
Thin cracks where the mortar meets the brick mean the joint has pulled away and water has a straight path inside. If the cracks line up across many bricks, the wall may be moving, and I'd want to find that out before anyone puts in new mortar.
How we handle brick pointing, start to finish
Before anyone picks up a chisel, I look for why the joints wore out, because a leaking gutter or a downspout soaking one wall will eat through new mortar the same way it ate the old. Then we clear the worn mortar out of the joints, and on soft old brick we do that by hand, since a grinder in a hurry chips the brick edges and leaves the joints wider for good. We match the new mortar to what's already in the wall instead of grabbing the strongest bag, pack it into the joints in layers, tool it to the same shape as the rest of the wall and clean the brick faces before we leave.
Pointing often turns up the reason the joints failed in the first place. If cracks step down from a corner or keep reopening, the wall may still be moving, and we'd look at foundation repair first, because new mortar won't hold on a wall that's shifting. Chimneys take more weather than any other brick on a house, so worn joints up there usually come with other problems we take care of as chimney repair.
Spot pointing
This suits a house where the wear sits in one place, like under a leaky gutter or on the side that takes the most weather. We clear and refill just those joints and leave sound mortar alone.
Full wall repointing
This suits a wall where most joints are worn back, crumbling or cracked. Doing the whole face at once means the staging goes up one time and the new joints all start fresh together.
Matched color and joint shape
This suits anyone who doesn't want a patchwork look, especially on older brick. We match the mortar color and tool the joints to the same profile as the rest of the wall, whether that's concave, flush or something older.
Get a written pointing estimate for your brick
We respond within 1 business day to set a time. I come out for a free on-site estimate, look at your joints, find what's wearing them and put it in writing, with no obligation.
(603) 314-0526- Based in
- Manchester, NH 03104
- Hours
- Mon–Sun: 8 AM–9 PM
What happens when you call us about brick pointing in Manchester?
Here's how a pointing job runs from your first call to the last walk around the house, and who you'll be dealing with at each step.
Call or send a message
Call (603) 314-0526 or use the contact form and tell us what you're seeing on your brick. We get back to you to set a time for me to come out.
I find what's wearing it
I look at the worn joints and hunt down the cause, whether that's a gutter, a downspout or a wall that's moving. You get a written estimate that says what I'd fix and why.
We handle permits, then point
Once you say go, we sort out the permit side with your city and get to work. Pointing is careful, slow and noisy, and staging may stay up on a wall until that face is done.
Walk the finished wall together
When the joints are done and the brick faces are cleaned, I walk the job with you. If anything doesn't look right to you, that's the time to say so.
Why Manchester homeowners call us for brick pointing
Same person quotes and points
I come out to see your wall and write the estimate, and I'm on the crew that does the pointing. The person who found the problem is there when it gets fixed, and the work is backed by our satisfaction guarantee.
Years spent fixing older buildings
Before we started this business in 2023, I spent years doing upkeep on older buildings for a property management company, patching brick, chimneys and foundations. That's where I learned to look for why a wall fails before I touch the joints.
Licensed and fully insured crew
We're licensed and fully insured, and I'm glad to show you proof before we set up on your house. You shouldn't have to take a contractor's word for it when there's a crew and staging on your property.
Told straight when less will do
Plenty of the older Manchester brick we look at only needs one wall or one worn section pointed, not the whole house. I'd rather tell you the job is smaller than you feared than sell you more than you need.
On a pointing job, what matters most is a mortar that suits your brick and a fix for whatever wore the old joints out. To get started, send us a message or call (603) 314-0526.
Brick pointing and wall repairs in Manchester, NH
Before any pointing starts, we check with the local building office and take care of the permit paperwork if your job needs one. In Manchester that's the city's Building Division, which handles permits, plan review and inspections, and whether a given pointing job needs a permit is something we confirm with them instead of guessing. If your house sits in one of the city's historic districts, the Heritage Commission reviews qualifying outdoor building permit applications there, so it's worth asking the city whether your project qualifies. Painted brick on a house built before 1978 brings one more rule, because the city's building code requires anyone disturbing more than 6 square feet of painted surface to be certified under the federal lead renovation rule, and you can ask any crew about that certification before work starts.
A lot of the brick we point around Manchester is on older houses and rentals, where the brick is softer and earlier patches were often done with hard gray mortar that's now pulling away. We're based in Manchester and work in many of the cities around it, and we see the same mix of old brick and patched joints on jobs in Bedford and just over the line in Methuen.
Questions about brick pointing in Manchester
How do I know if my brick needs repointing?
Your brick probably needs repointing if the mortar has worn back more than 1/4 inch from the face, crumbles when you scratch it, has holes in it or shows hairline cracks, including cracks right where the mortar meets the brick. You can check for all of these yourself with a flashlight and a key before you call anyone. If you're not sure what you're looking at, send us photos and I'll tell you what I see.
How long does brick repointing last?
Mortar joints typically last more than 25 years, while the bricks themselves can last more than 100, so plan on the joints needing work during a wall's life even when the bricks stay sound. Wear is rarely even across a house, and the side that takes the most water usually goes first. Fixing whatever wore the old joints out gives the new ones their best chance.
What kind of mortar should be used to repoint old brick?
New mortar should be about as strong as the original mortar or weaker, according to the brick industry's own repointing guidance. Mortar that's harder than the old puts the strain on the thin new strip at the edge of the joint, and that can make the face of the brick spall, or break away. Ask any mason how their mortar compares to what's in your wall.
Can surface grouting replace repointing on a brick house?
No, surface grouting can't stand in for repointing, and federal preservation guidance doesn't recommend it for historic masonry. Grouting covers the worn joints without clearing them out, so the failing mortar stays underneath. That's why we clear the joints before any new mortar goes in.
How much does brick pointing cost in Manchester, NH?
There's no set price, because pointing is priced on how much joint needs clearing, how hard the wall is to reach and how the old mortar has to come out. Pointing one worn section costs less than a full wall, and high walls that need staging cost more than work done from the ground. Soft old brick cleared by hand takes more labor than a grinder would, and painted brick on an older house can add lead-safe steps, so you get your own number in writing after I walk the wall.
What is the best way to remove old mortar from soft brick?
For historic masonry, federal preservation guidance says hand chisels and a mash hammer, a short heavy mason's hammer, usually do the least damage and give the best result, even though they take more labor. Grinders and power saws are more common, but in unskilled hands they can be disastrous for soft brick. If your house is older, ask whoever you hire how they'll get the old mortar out.
Related repairs that often come up with pointing
When cracks keep coming back in the same place or doors stick, the house may be settling, and that's worth sorting out before money goes into new joints.
Loose bricks at the top, a cracked crown or water stains on the ceiling near the chimney usually mean it needs more than fresh joints to stay dry.
Service areas for brick pointing around Manchester
Capstone Manchester Concrete and Masonry is based in Manchester, NH, and we point brick in many of the cities around it, including some just over the state line. The 12 cities listed here have their own pages, from Nashua to Concord, and they aren't the only ones we work in.
Manchester, NH
Get your worn brick joints looked at
Have a few photos of the worn joints and the year your house was built handy, since the build year tells me a lot about how soft the brick is and what mortar it was laid in.