If you are a home or a business owner with brick structures in your place, you must know that maintaining the brick work is an important task. For heritage homes or important landmarks made with bricks, preserving them and making sure the foundations are intact is also of utmost importance. For buildings and structures also equipped with bricks or masonry elements from its foundations, interior, or exterior design, maintaining the brick work is also integral to not only keeping it aesthetically pleasing, but to also keep the whole structure safe. After all, a single chip can loosen the whole structure, or worse, make it collapse, too.
However, important maintenance must not necessarily mean complicated. Fortunately, experts like NYC tuckpointing contractors such as NYC Brickpointing NYC Pros have perfected mason repair processed like brick pointing and tuckpointing in order to save, preserve, and maintain masonry constructions. Getting these companies to the maintenance of brick structures saves property owners time and minimizes potential damage.
But what is the difference between tuckpointing and repointing? Repointing, in its most basic definition, is the process of digging out chipped or loose mortar joints in old existing brick walls, chimneys, and other structure made with bricks. The “points” that need fixing are the exterior parts of the mortar found in between bricks. These points are added in the structure to make sure the bricks are protected from weathering and are used to seal water or moisture our so the bricks will not be damaged by moisture, molds, or deterioration. Repointing is done for structural purposes and damage control.
Meanwhile, tuckpointing also applies the same basic processes of digging old mortar joints and filling them with new ones. To some extent, NYC Tuckpointing services do tuckpointing in a way that is almost similar to brick pointing. However, their main difference lies in the actual finish. Tuckpointing is a style of pointing that involves various types and colors of mortar to create a different look or appearance to the newly applied mortar joints. A thorough NYC tuckpointing contractor will be able to repair brick walls and make them appear even with mortar lining.
Tuckpointing for beginners
For some people, tuckpointing may seem like more of a visual process when it comes to brickworks. It involves contrast color of mortar. The first color should match or look close to the color of the actual bricks. This is done so the filled mortar blends seamlessly with the existing brickwork. The second color of the mortar is prepared to appear with contrast color. This contrast color mortar is applied in between the first color so that when it dries, it gives off an illusion that the mortar joints are applied evenly and are in regular shape. NYC Tuckpointing services can also make the joints appear fine and thin, versus looking thick and uneven.
Tuckpointing can trace its origins in England, where commoners wanted to recreate the look of more expensive rubbed bricks without breaking the bank. Rubbed bricks look like the classic laid out brickworks seen in classic walls or chimneys: red, with lighter joints made of lime, and fillets that are used to outline the shape to precise size and proportion. As these were done by hand, it also costs a fortune. Tuckpointing became popular as it was able to copy the looks of these classic bricks for less money. These days, tuckpointing does not necessarily mean a cheap copy of any brickwork, but is widely used in connection with brick pointing, too.
A good tuckpointing contractor NYC is instrumental in achieving the “tuckpointed” look of any brick surface after it is repaired. Whether they are tuckpointing chimney, external walls, or foundations, one can count on a trusted tuckpointing contractor NYC team to bring polished looking tuckpointing brickwork to life. The easiest way to spot a tuckpointed wall is to examine the mortar around the actual brick. One can identify where the similar-colored mortar is by looking closely. Finely done contrast mortar will lend the brick with refined lines to frame the bricks into a classy look.
How much tuckpointing cost? This is often asked by building owners when having their walls or chimneys fixed. Depending on size and dimension, the average cost for a brick wall to be serviced with tuck pointing ranges from ___USD to ___USD. But if you are running a church or looking after an ancestral home or heritage site, maintaining and preserving the brickwork can prove to be invaluable. Experts in the field use specialized tools in order to make precise cuts from the contrast putty. A successful tuckpointing service both preserve the look and the quality if the bricks and every penny spent on a good finish can mean decades more to come for the brick structure to last.