Mortar crumbling, cracked or worn back from the brick? We clean out the old joints and repoint them so your wall sheds water again.
Brick pointing, also called repointing, means cutting the worn mortar out of the joints between your bricks and packing in fresh mortar, and on houses and walls in Chula Vista its main job is helping the brick keep water out.
Most calls start with mortar sanding out of the joints, a crack you can see from the driveway or a gap behind a downspout. The bricks themselves are usually sound, so the job is about the joints. If cracks run through the bricks in a stair-step line, though, that can mean movement under the wall, and we'd look at foundation repair before any new mortar goes in.
Chimneys often show worn joints first because they take weather on every side, so repointing there often goes along with chimney repair. Price and schedule mostly turn on how much wall there is, how high it goes and how worn the joints are, and the written estimate I send after looking puts a figure on your wall.
Call (619) 257-1054 or use the form, and tell me what you're seeing on the wall. We'll set a time that works for me to come out.
I come out myself, scratch at a few joints and show you where the mortar has gone soft and where it's still sound. Then I send a written estimate that spells out which areas we'd repoint and what the price covers, so you can compare it with anyone else's.
If you go ahead, I'm on site running the work with our crew, cutting out the old mortar and packing the joints with new. Cutting mortar is noisy, so I'll tell you ahead of time which days to expect it.
Once the joints are done and the wall is cleaned up, we walk every section with you. Ask me anything you want about what we did and why.
The new mortar has to be weaker than your brick, because a stronger mortar can make the faces of the bricks spall, breaking off in flakes, and that's a far bigger repair than mortar. Before anything gets mixed, I'll tell you what your brick is like and how the new mortar compares with it, and you should ask any mason that same question.
Laying brick and pointing it are different skills, and an excellent bricklayer isn't always good at repointing, which is why industry guidance says to look at a mason's past repointing work. I'm glad to show you pointing we've done and to start on a spot that's out of sight, so you can judge the work before we touch the front of your house.
What our brick pointing covers:
If the worn joints sit in one area, like under a downspout, repointing just that section usually makes sense, and we'll work to match the old mortar's color. When wear runs across the whole face, patching ends up chasing it, so I'd redo the wall at once. What I won't do is surface grouting, a thin mortar wash smeared over the joints, because it can't do repointing's job, and the National Park Service's guidance for historic masonry recommends against it.
The size of the wall comes first, then how deep the old mortar has to come out and how stubborn it is. Height adds time, since a second story or a chimney means ladders or scaffolding. Matching an old mortar color, swapping out broken bricks and working around plants or trim add to it too. Very small patch jobs can cost more per square foot, because most masons set a minimum fee for them.
I taught myself masonry patching brick and fixing block walls, learned the rest working beside experienced masons, and started K&L in Chula Vista in 2023. I care that you understand your own house, so I'll tell you what I'd do, what I wouldn't and why, and what I can't know until the old mortar is out.
On the job, we cover plants and walkways near the wall, keep mortar off your windows and trim, and clean up before we leave each day. Our promise is plain. Your satisfaction, guaranteed. When you're ready, call (619) 257-1054 or send the form below.
Have photos of the worn joints and a rough wall size ready, and we can talk it through on the first call.
Tell us where the worn joints are and roughly how big the wall is. We'll reply within one business day, and I'll come out for a free written estimate with no obligation.
Mortar worn back more than 1/4 inch from the brick face, crumbling mortar, gaps, hairline cracks and cracks opening between the brick and the mortar are the signs to look for. Catching them early lets you plan the repair before water works its way into the wall. If you're not sure what you're looking at, I'm happy to come show you.
Mortar joints typically last more than 25 years, while the bricks can last well over 100. So a brick wall needs its joints redone now and then, sooner or later depending on how exposed the wall is and what mortar went into it.
Across the US, repointing brick usually costs about $400 to $2,500 per 100 square feet of wall, and that's a national figure, not a Chula Vista price or ours. The spread is wide because walls differ so much, which is why I'd rather look at yours first. The written estimate I send after the visit gives the figure for your wall.
On most repointing jobs, yes, because California requires a license from the Contractors State License Board once the labor and materials come to $1,000 or more, or the person brings on other workers. The small-job exemption under that amount is narrow, and it doesn't cover anyone with employees on the job. We're licensed and fully insured.
If your house is a designated historic property and the work counts as a major alteration, yes, because the city's Historic Preservation Commission has to find that the work meets the Secretary of the Interior's standards for historic properties before a certificate of appropriateness is issued. You can read the city's rules for major alterations. If you're not sure whether your house is designated, ask the city before work is scheduled.
The best way is whatever takes the old mortar out without chipping the brick and cleans each joint deep enough for the new mortar to grip. National Park Service guidance written for historic buildings notes that power saws on thin joints, like most brick, almost always break brick edges and overcut the vertical joints, and that joints should be cleaned out deep enough for their width so new mortar doesn't pop out. Ask any mason, us included, how they'll remove it and how deep they'll go.
We're based in Chula Vista and repoint brick in National City, Bonita and the cities around them. Pick your area below, or call if yours isn't listed.
