Masonry Pointing

Chips, cracks and loose or missing mortar in your masonry chimney aren’t just unsightly — that damage is limiting your chimney’s ability to do its job right. If not addressed, this deterioration could lead to costly repairs down the line, from fixing water damage in your home’s interior to completely replacing the chimney.

Cracks can let water, insects and drafts into your home. Once water starts seeping into your masonry, the expansion and contraction that comes with freezing and warming temperatures can cause spalling, or chipping and flaking in the bricks themselves. Spalling bricks can quickly erode the structural integrity of your chimney.

If you see issues developing in your chimney, call Mason’s Chimney Service — you’ll likely need pointing work done, and we have decades of experience performing that detailed, painstaking task.

What Is Pointing?

Simply stated, pointing is the process of restoring the mortar joints in your masonry chimney. We can safely remove damaged mortar (and if need be, brick) and replace it with new mortar to form new, strong, watertight joints.

But pointing is not simple work. It’s important to have your pointing done by a professional, particularly with older homes. The makeup of modern bricks and mortar is considerably different from the materials used in years past. Today’s bricks are much harder, and today’s mortar is more rigid and less water permeable. If pointing work is done with masonry materials that don’t work properly with the original materials, your chimney can look shoddy and lose its structural integrity. We know new chimneys and old chimneys — we’ll handle your pointing needs the right way.

Minimize The Chance Of Further Damage With Preventive Measures

After you get pointing work done — or before you need it — we can recommend a waterproofing sealant that can help protect your masonry and add years to its life.

Mason’s Chimney Service routinely uses CrownGuardWater Repellants, which are specially designed to protect masonry against the damage that comes from water penetration. This isn’t your average sealant — if you were to just, say, paint over the outside of your chimney, you’d probably do well at keeping water out, but you’d also harm the proper function of your chimney. Bricks and mortar are permeable, and that’s an important part of their function — they allow toxic gases and small particles to be expelled. Sealing off the outside won’t allow that to happen. CrownGuard Water Repellants are made to be vapor permeable, so they keep water from getting into your masonry, but allow those gases to get out. It’s a great product that professionals have been using for more than 25 years.

For all your pointing or chimney repair needs, call Mason’s Chimney Service!

 

Another masonry repair or restoration may involve fixing the chimney crown. We can help with this basic chimney service and guarantee the results.