Chimney Services

Inside a tuckpointing job in Oviedo

Packing chimney joints in thin layers

Deep joints are filled in stages. Technical Note 46 calls for packing the mortar tightly in layers no more than 1/4 inch thick, and the Park Service brief explains that each layer is left to reach thumbprint hardness before the next goes on, because most mortar shrinkage happens while it hardens.

Layering keeps shrinkage in each thin lift instead of in one thick plug that pulls away from the brick. The brief also says that where old mortar comes out deeper than about an inch, those deep pockets get filled first. Our specialists follow that sequence so the finished joint is solid from back to face.

A damp patch indoors, traced to the joints

A stain on the wall or ceiling beside the chimney can come from open joints, a failed crown, loose flashing or a missing cap. Repainting the stain changes nothing until the entry point is found and repaired.

During the free inspection our specialists follow the water back from the stain to its likely source. If failed mortar is the path, the joints involved are marked for repointing. If the water is coming in somewhere else, you get that answer instead, with the right repair on the estimate.

What tuckpointing will and will not fix

Repointing restores the mortar joints, and Brick Industry Association guidance notes that water usually gets into brickwork at cracks and separations between brick and mortar. Repointing does not straighten a leaning stack, replace a cracked crown, seal a rusted cap or mend broken brick.

Knowing those limits up front keeps the recommendation straight. We tell you which of your concerns tuckpointing will address and which need a different repair, so the price you approve matches the problem you called about.

Grit on the roof and gaps between bricks

Mortar that is washing out leaves clues. Sandy grit collects on the roof below the chimney or on the ground at its base, joints look recessed behind the brick faces, and in places a shadow line opens between a brick and the mortar beside it.

None of those signs tells you how deep the damage goes. The free inspection does. Our local specialists check the joints close up and tell you whether the chimney needs a few joints repointed, a full face or a different repair altogether.