Brick pointing in Pittsburg, CA - solid mortar joints that protect your brick
Mortar crumbling or sunk back from the brick? We clear out the worn joints and refill them so your wall sheds water again.
- Licensed and insured.
- Free on-site estimates.
- We reply within 1 business day.
What is brick pointing, and does my wall need it?
Brick pointing means cutting the worn mortar out of the joints in a brick wall and packing in new mortar, so the wall keeps water out and holds together, and A&K Pittsburg Concrete and Masonry does it for homes in Pittsburg and the cities around it.
Most people call because the joints look sandy or sunk back and they want to know if it's just the mortar or something bigger, and that's the first thing I sort out. The price moves with how much wall needs pointing, how deep the old mortar has worn and how tall the wall is, since anything that needs scaffolding costs more per square foot. The schedule turns on the same things, plus whether any bricks need brick repair before we point. When I come out, I'll walk the wall with you and write up what it needs and what it costs in plain terms.
How can you tell your mortar joints are wearing out?
Joints sunk behind the brick
When the mortar has worn back from the face, you see a shadow line along each joint and the brick edges standing proud. Water sits in that recess and works deeper, so the longer it goes, the more mortar there is to cut out.
Crumbling or cracked mortar
If the joint comes away as sand when you scratch it, has holes in it or shows thin cracks where the mortar meets the brick, it's done holding water out. Left alone, gaps like that let rain get behind the face of the wall.
Cracks running through bricks
Stair-step cracks, loose or cracked bricks, faces flaking off or a leak inside mean the problem has gone past the joints and the brick needs repair first. Jot down where you've seen any of it and tell me when you call, because it changes what I look for.
How we handle brick pointing
I start by checking that the damage stays in the joints, because pointing only fixes mortar, and any bricks that need it get repaired before we point. Then we cut the worn mortar out to an even depth, or until we reach sound mortar, so the new mortar has something solid to bond to. On older brick we take the old mortar out by hand where a grinder could chip the edges, since soft old brick doesn't forgive a slip. We mix the new mortar softer than the brick, so any wear shows up in the joint and not on the face, then pack the joints, tool them to match the rest of the wall and clean the mortar off the brick before we leave.
Pointing sometimes turns out to be part of a bigger job. If cracks run in a stair-step pattern and keep reopening, the house may be settling, and that's a foundation repair to sort out before we fill a single joint. Chimneys are one of the most common places we find worn mortar, and when the crown, the flashing or loose bricks up top need work too, we take it on as chimney repair.
Pointing the worn sections
This suits a wall where the wear is in patches, like under a downspout or along the bottom rows. We match the color and shape of your existing joints so the new work blends in with the old.
Repointing a whole wall
This suits a wall where most joints are worn, or where patches from past repairs never matched. Doing the whole face at once gives you even joints from end to end, though it costs more than spot work.
Get a free brick pointing estimate for your wall
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 with no obligation. Photos of the worn joints help.
(925) 318-8090- Based in
- Pittsburg, CA 94565
- Hours
- Mon–Fri: 7 AM–10 PM, Sat–Sun: 6 AM–11 PM
What happens after you call about brick pointing
Here's how a pointing job runs from your first call to the walk-through at the end, and who you'll deal with at each step.
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Call or send a message
Call (925) 318-8090 or use the form, and we'll set a time for me to come see the wall. A rough idea of the wall's size and any leaks or loose bricks you've noticed helps me plan the visit.
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I look at the wall
I check whether the damage stays in the joints or reaches the brick, answer your questions and write it up in plain terms. The estimate spells out which sections need pointing, how we'll do it and what it costs, so there's no guessing about the price.
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We do the pointing
Our crew and I cut out the old mortar, pack the new joints and tool them to match the rest of the wall. We clean mortar off the brick as we go so it doesn't set on the face.
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Walk the finished wall together
When the joints are done, I walk the wall with you so you can see every section we pointed. If something doesn't look right to you, that's the time to say so.
Why Pittsburg homeowners call A&K for brick pointing
On a pointing job, the mortar and how the old joints come out matter more than anything else, because those decide whether your brick is still sound years from now. Get in touch or call (925) 318-8090, and I'll come take a look.
I come out to every job
I look at every job myself, and the pointing is done by me and our crew. The person who told you what your wall needs is the one making sure it gets done that way.
Brick and mortar since 2017
We've been in business since 2017, nine years now, and brick and mortar repair is what we're best known for. Coming back to masonry taught me to slow down and explain a wall before I touch it, so you'll know what we're doing and why.
Licensed and insured for this work
We're licensed and insured. California lets someone without a license take only minor jobs up to $1,000, and only when the work needs no permit and they employ no one on it, so it's worth asking any mason for their license before they start on your wall.
Brick pointing, chimneys and foundations in Pittsburg
The city decides whether a pointing job needs a permit, not us. City of Pittsburg staff run construction permits from the first application through final inspection, and you can call them directly with questions. The city's online permit guide is only general guidance, and the staff make the final call on permits, fees and zoning. We check with them before we start, and when a job needs a permit, we pull it and handle the paperwork.
Most of the brick we point around Pittsburg is on chimneys, garden walls, steps and the fronts of older houses, often with joints patched more than once in mortar that doesn't match. We sort out what's original before we choose a mix, and we see the same patchwork on jobs in Antioch and Concord.
Questions about brick pointing in Pittsburg
How do I tell if my brick needs repointing?
Your brick likely needs repointing when the mortar has worn back more than about a quarter inch from the face, crumbles, has holes in it or shows hairline cracks, including cracks between the brick and the mortar. Those are all mortar problems that pointing fixes. Cracks through the bricks themselves are a different story, covered in the signs above.
How much does brick repointing cost in Pittsburg, CA?
Repointing brick across the US usually runs about $500 to $2,500 per 100 square feet of wall, and that's a national figure for the work, not our price. Where your job lands depends on how much wall there is, how deep the joints are worn and how hard the wall is to reach. Your own figure comes from the estimate, after I've seen the wall.
How long does new mortar last after repointing?
One masonry council puts mortar life at roughly 25 to 50 years, while the brick itself can go about 100 years or more. So expect the joints to need doing again someday while the bricks keep going, which is exactly why we want the mortar to be the part that wears.
What mortar should be used for repointing old brick?
New mortar should be equal to or weaker than the original, because stronger mortar puts stress where brick meets mortar and can make the brick face flake off. One mortar type is generally recommended for modern brick, and the weakest is kept for historic masonry. I'll tell you which one your wall gets and why.
How do I choose a mason for brick repointing?
Ask how their repointing skill can be checked before you hire them, because a mason who lays excellent brick isn't always good at pointing. Pointing is careful, slow work on someone else's old wall, and it takes a different eye than building new. I'm glad to talk through how we do it when I'm on site.
Is brick pointing the same as tuckpointing?
Yes, pointing, repointing and tuckpointing are names for the same basic job of cutting out worn mortar and filling the joints with new. Masons use the words a little differently, so ask what a quote actually includes, and you can read more on our tuckpointing page.
Related repairs that often come with pointing
When cracks in your brick keep coming back after they're filled, the ground or footing may be moving, and that needs fixing before any new mortar goes in.
A chimney with loose bricks, a cracked crown or joints washing out up top often needs more than pointing to keep water from running down inside.
Service areas for brick pointing near Pittsburg
A&K Pittsburg Concrete and Masonry is based in Pittsburg, California, and we point brick here and in the cities around it, including Bay Point and Martinez. The 12 cities below each have their own page, and they're not the only places we work.
Send us photos of your worn joints
A few photos and a rough size of the wall help me see before the visit whether it's the mortar or the brick that needs the work.
Pittsburg, CA