Repointing, raked
out properly
Old joints raked back to sound mortar and pointed again in a mix the wall can live with. Done badly it looks worse than it did and takes the faces off the brick.
Raked outMatched mortarLime or cement
- Raked
- Twice the joint width
- Mortar
- Matched to the wall
- Covering
- Bristol and 40 miles
How deep
How deep a joint has to be raked
Pointing is only as good as the hole it goes in. Smeared over the old mortar it falls out in a winter; raked back to twice the joint width it keys in and lasts. That is the whole job, and it is why repointing takes as long as it does.
- Rake20 mmBack to sound mortar, square, with the arrises left on the brick. A disc cutter run along a joint widens it and cuts the bricks either side.
- PointMatched mixLime where the wall is old or soft, cement where it is modern. Pressed in tight in two passes, not one.
- FinishTo the wallThe joint profile the wall already has, struck before the mortar goes off.
Asked often
Repointing, answered
If yours is not here, ring and ask it.
How do I know if my wall needs repointing?
Rake a joint with a screwdriver. If the mortar comes out as sand, or you can get in more than a few millimetres by hand, it is going. Crumbling, open or missing joints are the obvious cases.
Someone pointed my wall in cement and it is worse — why?
A hard cement mortar on a soft old brick gives the water nowhere to leave except through the brick face, so the faces blow off in frost. The repair is to take the cement out and point it in lime.
Can you match the colour?
Yes, with sand and lime or cement gauged to the existing. It is matched by making samples and letting them dry, because wet mortar tells you nothing about the colour it will be.
Does the whole wall need doing?
Not always. Sound pointing is left alone and the failed areas done, as long as the mortars are compatible. A patchwork of two different mixes is worse than either.
The rest of the range
Everything else he lays
Ten kinds of job, three trades.
Brickwork
Walls, piers, arches and detail work in facing brick, laid to the bond the job calls for.
Facing brickPiers & archesAny bond
See the work →
Blockwork
Inner leaves, foundations and retaining walls in dense or lightweight block, laid level and plumb.
Dense & lightweightInner leafRetaining
See the work →
Stonework
Walling, repairs and features, coursed or random — and the masonry proper: dry stone, mullions, heads and sills.
Dry stone wallingMullions, heads & sillsLime mortar
See the work →
Patios & paving
Patios, paths and edging, set out square and laid to falls so the water goes where it should.
Laid to fallsEdgingPaths & steps
See the work →
Extensions
The brick and block shell of an extension, from the footings to the wall plate.
Footings to plateCavity workLintels
See the work →
New build
Plot brickwork for builders and self-builders, by the metre or by the job.
Plot workBy the metreTo programme
See the work →
Repointing
Old joints raked out and pointed again in a mortar that suits the wall, not one that damages it.
Raked outMatched mortarLime or cement
You are here →
Groundworks
Digs, drainage, foundations and oversite — his own 360, telehandler and dumper, and a waste carrier licence to take it away.
360, telehandler, dumperDrainage & foundationsWaste carrier
See the work →
Whole projects
Derelict house to turnkey. Groundwork, shell, trades booked and run, keys handed back.
Derelict to turnkeyTrades booked and runOne person to ring
See the work →
Commercial
Site brickwork for contractors and developers, priced by the metre and run to programme.
Site workPriced per m²Contractors
See the work →
Get a price
Tell him what you are having done
A photograph of where it is going and a rough size is usually enough to come back with a sensible figure. He will call you.
Or call 07915 607362