Tuckpointing in Redlands CA - tight joints that keep water out of your brick
Mortar crumbling or washing out of your brick? We repoint only the worn joints with a mortar that matches, so the wall sheds water again.
- Licensed and insured.
- Free quotes on site.
- Expect a reply within 1 business day.
Do the joints in your brick wall need tuckpointing?
Tuckpointing in Redlands, CA means clearing the worn mortar out of the joints in your brick and packing in fresh mortar, so the wall keeps water out again for years.
Most people call when they brush a joint and it comes away as sand, or the gaps between bricks look a little deeper every winter. Old mortar doesn't quit all at once, so neither does the fix. The price comes down to how many joints are actually bad, how deep the damage goes, how high and easy to reach the wall is and which finish you want. The schedule turns on how much wall there is and whether the city has to review the work first. I give you your own figure in a written estimate that says what we'd do and what we'd use.
How can you tell your mortar joints are failing?
Mortar turning to sand
If you can scrape a joint with a key and it crumbles, that mortar has stopped holding water out. Left alone, water works in behind the brick, and a joint repair starts turning into a brick repair.
Joints sitting deep
Joints that sit well back from the brick face, or have open gaps in them, have washed out over the years. Every rain pushes more water into those gaps, so the joints next to them go faster.
Hairline cracks along bricks
A thin crack through the mortar, or a line where it has pulled away from the edge of a brick, lets water straight into the wall. It looks small, but it's how a loose brick gets started if you wait.
How we do tuckpointing on your wall
I start by going over the wall joint by joint and marking the ones that are worn, because I'd rather leave a sound old joint alone than replace it to pad a bill. Then we ask which finish you want, plain joints matched to the brick or the thin contrasting line, so the estimate covers the look you're picturing. A small test patch goes in a hidden spot first so you can see the color before we do the whole wall, since the sand and the type of cement both change how the mortar looks. Once you like it, our crew clears the old mortar out of the marked joints, packs in the new mortar, shapes each joint to the finish you picked and cleans the brick face before we pack up.
Sometimes the joints aren't the whole story. If bricks have cracked, flaked or come loose, we take care of them with brick repair alongside the repointing, so the new mortar has something solid to hold. And if the house looks sharp again but the drive out front doesn't, we also lay driveway pavers.
Plain joints matched to your brick
This suits most houses, because the new mortar blends with the brick and the old joints so the repair disappears. It's what people mean when they say they just want the wall to look right again.
Thin contrasting line
This is the older tuckpointing style, a flush joint close to the brick color with a thin strip of contrasting mortar run along it so the joints read crisp and narrow. It takes more hand work, so it suits a house that had it originally or an owner who wants that sharp look.
Get a written tuckpointing estimate for your wall
Expect a reply within 1 business day to set a time for me to come out. The on-site quote is free with no obligation, and you get a written estimate of what we'd do and use.
(909) 488-7148- Based in
- Redlands, CA 92373
- Hours
- Mon–Fri: 8 AM–10 PM, Sat–Sun: 6 AM–9 PM
What happens after you call us about tuckpointing?
Here's how a tuckpointing job runs from your first call to the final walk-around, and who you'll be dealing with at each step.
Call or send a message
Call (909) 488-7148 or use the form, and we get back to you to set a time for me to come out. Tell us which wall is giving you trouble so I know where to look first.
I look at the wall
I check the joints, what's around the wall and where the water goes, then send you a written estimate. It names the joints we'd redo, the mortar and the finish, so you know what you're paying for before anything starts.
Our crew does the work
If you go ahead, we take care of any permit or city review the job needs, and I'm on site while the crew works. If anything changes once a joint is open, it goes in writing first, because California requires every change to a home improvement contract to be written, easy to read and to tell you of your right to cancel.
Walk the finished wall together
When the last joint is shaped and the brick is cleaned, you and I walk the wall together. Your yard should look like we were never there, minus the mess.
Why Redlands homeowners call Prestige Redlands Concrete and Masonry for tuckpointing
I walk the job myself
I come out and look at your wall in person, and I'm on the job with our crew while the work gets done. The person who wrote your estimate is the one checking the joints.
In business since 2021
I started this business in 2021 after years framing houses and learning brick next to an old mason who wouldn't let a bad joint slide. That's why I look for what made a joint fail before I fill it.
Licensed and insured for your job
We're licensed and insured. That matters when a crew is up on ladders working against the wall of your house.
Historic homes flagged at the estimate
I ask whether your house is a designated or nominated historic resource before I write a number. If it is, you know up front that the city reviews the work, instead of finding out halfway through.
On tuckpointing, the mortar matters more than the trowel, so get it chosen right before anyone starts cutting out joints. Tell us about your wall and I'll come take a look.
Tuckpointing and brick repair on Redlands homes
If your house is a designated historic resource, Redlands requires a certificate of appropriateness for any exterior alteration, and it's issued by the city's historic commission or its preservation officer. The city's community development department sends building permit applicants on designated and nominated historic homes to the commission for that certificate. When your job needs it, we handle the application with the city, and for questions about the rules on your own lot, the city has the final word.
We're based in Redlands and work across the cities around it. A lot of what we repoint is older brick that's had a patch or two over the years, and we see the same kind of walls on jobs in Highland and Mentone, where the first job is often spotting which old patch used too hard a mortar.
Questions about tuckpointing in Redlands
How do I know my brick needs tuckpointing?
Your brick needs it where the mortar has worn back more than 1/4 inch, is crumbling, has open voids, shows hairline cracks or has cracked away from the brick. Repointing is slow hand work, so national masonry guides limit it to those defective joints, and those are the ones I mark when I walk the wall for your estimate.
What mortar is best for an older brick home in Redlands?
The best mortar is one as strong as the original or weaker, never harder. A stronger mix pushes the load onto the thin new strip and can make the face of the brick spall, which is damage you can't repair. National preservation guides call lime mortar a good choice for historic buildings, because it's soft, porous and changes little in volume as temperatures shift.
Does Redlands review tuckpointing on historic homes?
Yes, on designated historic homes the city reviews exterior work through the certificate of appropriateness described above. For minor improvements that don't harm the exterior features or the historic character of the house, the preservation officer may approve the certificate. We handle the application, and the city decides which route your job takes.
Does a small tuckpointing job need a licensed contractor in California?
In California it does if the work needs a permit of any kind or the person doing it hires even one worker, even when the job comes in under $1,000. Tuckpointing a house wall usually takes more than one pair of hands, so most jobs fall under that rule.
How much does tuckpointing cost in Redlands?
Your number comes from a written estimate after I see the wall, because the price follows the joints that need work rather than the size of the house. Since it's slow hand work, the count and depth of the bad joints move the price most, and the thin contrasting-line finish takes longer than plain joints matched to the brick. Call (909) 488-7148 and I'll come take a look.
How long does tuckpointing last on a brick wall?
Mortar joints typically last more than 25 years, while the brick itself can go well past 100. So over the life of a wall you can plan on some joint repair now and then, and how long each round holds depends on how exposed the wall is and which mortar went in.
Related masonry work for your house
Brick repair
When bricks themselves are cracked, flaking or loose, fresh mortar alone won't hold them, and replacing the bad ones first gives new joints something solid to grip.
Driveway pavers
A cracked or stained driveway can undo the look of freshly pointed brick, and pavers give the front of your house a surface that's easy to repair later.
Cities where we do tuckpointing
Prestige Redlands Concrete and Masonry is based in Redlands, CA, and our crew does tuckpointing in the cities around it, from Yucaipa over to Fontana. The 12 cities below each have their own page, and they aren't the only places we work.
Redlands, CA
Send photos of your worn mortar joints
A few photos of the worst joints, plus a note on whether your house is a designated historic resource, let me show up ready to talk mortar and any city review.