Tuckpointing in Manchester NH - new mortar joints matched to your old brick
Mortar crumbling or washing out of your brick joints? We clear the worn joints and repack them with mortar that suits your wall.
- Licensed and fully insured.
- Free on-site estimates.
- We respond within 1 business day.
Does my brick wall need tuckpointing?
Tuckpointing, which most masons also call repointing, means cutting the worn mortar out of the joints in your brick and packing in fresh mortar. On houses and buildings in Manchester, NH, it helps keep water out of the wall so the brick around it lasts.
Most calls start with something small, like mortar dust on a sill, a joint that looks hollow or a stain that won't go away, and the homeowner wants to know if it's a quick fix or the start of something bigger. The price mostly turns on how much of the wall has worn joints, how high it goes, whether the brick behind the mortar is still sound and how easy it is to reach, because staging on a chimney costs more than kneeling at a foundation. The schedule turns on those same things, plus any brick that has to be fixed first and whatever the city needs before we start, and the written estimate after I've seen the wall tells you what I'd fix and why.
How do you know your mortar joints are failing?
Mortar you can scrape out
If a key or screwdriver pulls sandy mortar out of a joint, that mortar has lost its grip on the brick and isn't shedding water anymore. Left alone, water works deeper into the wall every year, and a few patches turn into a whole section.
Joints sitting back from brick
When the mortar line sits well behind the face of the brick, rain has been washing it away for a long time. Those recessed edges hold water against the brick, which is where flaking faces start, and then you're paying for brick work as well as joints.
Damp patches inside the wall
A water stain on the inside of an outside brick wall, or a damp spot on a brick foundation, often means water is getting through open joints. The longer it runs, the more plaster, trim and framing it soaks on its way in.
How we handle tuckpointing on your house
I look at the brick as closely as the mortar, because we only tuckpoint when the trouble stops at the joints, and if bricks are cracked or flaking I tell you and we deal with what's behind that before any new mortar goes in. When the joints really are the problem, we cut the worn mortar out down to sound material, clean the joints out, mix mortar to suit your brick and its color, pack it in layers so it fills solid, and tool each joint to the shape the wall already has. Then we clean the brick face and clear up the site.
Sometimes the joints are fine and a handful of bricks aren't, and that's a job for brick repair, which we can do alongside the repointing. Water sitting at the foot of a wall wears joints out too, so if a sunken driveway is sending rain back at your house, we can fix that with driveway pavers laid to slope away from the foundation.
Spot repointing
This suits a wall that's mostly sound with wear in a few places, like under a leaky gutter or around a chimney. We repoint just those areas and match the old joints so the patch blends in as well as it can.
Full wall repointing
This suits a wall where the joints are worn across most of the face, which is common on older brick. Doing the whole face at once gives you an even look and saves setting up to come back for patch after patch.
Get a written tuckpointing estimate for your wall
Send the form or call, and we'll get back to you within one business day. The on-site estimate is free with no obligation, and I'll walk the wall with you and put what I'd fix in writing.
(603) 314-0526- Based in
- Manchester, NH 03104
- Hours
- Mon–Sun: 8 AM–9 PM
What happens after you call us about tuckpointing?
Here's how a repointing job runs from your first call to the final walk-through, and who you'll be dealing with at each step.
Call or send a message
Call (603) 314-0526 or use the form, tell us where the wall is and what you're seeing, and we'll set up a time to come out. If you have photos of the joints, email them to sales@manchesterconcreteandmasonry.com so I know what to look for.
I find the cause first
I come out, look at the joints and the brick, and track down why the mortar failed before I price anything. You get it in writing, what I'd fix and why, so you can see whether the job is smaller than you feared.
We repoint, then walk it
Once you say go, we sort out the permit side with the city, do the repointing and clean up. Then I walk the finished joints with you so you can see the work up close.
Why homeowners call Capstone for tuckpointing
I quote it and work it
I come out to see the wall and write the estimate, and I'm on the crew that does the work. The person who found the cause is the one making sure it gets fixed.
Years spent fixing older buildings
Before we started the business in 2023, I spent years doing upkeep for a property management company, patching brick, chimneys and foundations on a lot of older buildings. That's where I learned to ask why a joint failed, which is what tells you whether you need mortar, brick work or less than you thought.
Licensed and fully insured, every job
We're licensed and fully insured, which matters when a crew is on ladders against your house. Laying brick and repointing it are different skills, so it's fair to ask any mason to show past repointing work or do a small sample on a part of the wall nobody sees.
Tell me what you're seeing on the wall, and send us a message or call (603) 314-0526 to set up a visit.
Tuckpointing and brick repair in Manchester
In Manchester, the city's Building Division handles building permits, plan review, field inspections and building records, and it's the office to ask whether your repointing job needs a permit, so we check with them before work starts and take care of the paperwork when one's needed. If your house sits in one of the city's historic districts, qualifying outdoor permit applications also go to the Heritage Commission, which reviews how the work affects the district.
We're based in Manchester and work in many of the cities around it, including some just over the line in Massachusetts. Much of what we see is older brick with joints worn thin under gutters and around chimneys, and we find the same wear on jobs in Bedford and Methuen.
Questions about tuckpointing in Manchester
How much does tuckpointing cost in Manchester, NH?
Tuckpointing across the US usually costs about $5 to $25 per square foot of wall, and that's the going range in the market, not our price. Where your wall lands depends on the things that move the price above, and your own figure comes from the written estimate after I've seen it.
How do I know if my mortar needs repointing?
Your joints need repointing when the mortar is crumbling, has gaps or voids, shows hairline cracks, has pulled away from the brick edges, or has worn back more than 1/4 inch from the face. You can check for these with a flashlight before you call, and it helps to tell me which walls show them.
Do I need tuckpointing or brick repair?
Tuckpointing only works when the damage stops at the mortar joints. Leaks, stair-step cracks, loose or cracked bricks, or brick faces flaking off mean the brick needs repair, and the cause behind it gets fixed before the joints.
How long does tuckpointing last?
Mortar joints typically last more than 25 years, while the bricks can go well over 100. So a sound brick wall may need its joints redone now and then over its life, and that's normal upkeep, not a sign the wall is failing.
What is the best mortar for repointing old brick?
The best repointing mortar is one that's equal to or weaker than the mortar already in the wall. Stronger mortar puts stress on older brick and can make the faces spall, or flake off, so the mix should match the wall rather than be as hard as possible.
What is the difference between tuckpointing and repointing?
Most of the time there's no difference, and both words mean replacing worn mortar in the joints. Tuckpointing can also mean an older style where a flush joint is colored to match the brick and a thin strip of contrasting mortar makes the joints look very fine, so if a quote says tuckpointing, ask which one it means.
Related services for brick and the ground around it
When a brick is cracked, loose or flaking, new mortar around it won't hold for long, so the brick gets fixed or replaced before the joints.
A paver driveway graded to carry water away from the house helps keep rain from pooling at your foundation, and it can replace cracked asphalt or concrete.
Cities we work in around Manchester
Capstone Manchester Concrete and Masonry is based in Manchester, New Hampshire. The 12 cities below have their own pages, from Bedford next door up to Concord, but they aren't the only places we work, so ask if yours isn't listed.
Manchester, NH
Have your mortar joints checked
Catching worn joints while the brick is still sound usually keeps the job to mortar alone, which is the smaller and simpler fix.