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Chimney Tuckpointing & Repointing
Quality Chimney Tuckpointing & Repointing Services. Quality Chimney Repair in Austin, San Antonio, or New Braunfels!
Over time, your chimney ages. As it ages, the mortar between the bricks begins to fail. Whether due to wind or water, erosion takes place, slowly taking bits of your mortar away. Freeze and thaw cycles create cracks where more water can gather, causing more damage. How do you get your chimney back to its former glory?
Chimney tuckpointing and repointing are a type of chimney repair in which the original mortar is covered with a fresh layer to protect it, keeping your chimney’s structural integrity intact. It can take a decade or more to be needed, but if you let it go, it can quickly lead to chimney failure. Fortunately, there’s an answer!
At Wolfman Chimney & Fireplace, we have the knowledge, experience, and tools to properly repair your chimney’s failing mortar. By reaching out today, we can get started on your chimney tuckpointing or repointing project before more work is required. Why not reach out to the best service in San Antonio, Austin, New Braunfels, and the surrounding areas? Call or reach out online today.
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Are Chimney Tuckpointing & Chimney Repointing the Same Thing?
There are some basic differences between them. You can think of tuckpointing as maintenance to protect your existing mortar by sealing it behind a fresh layer or mortar before it begins to fail. This may also be undertaken if you want to get a different aesthetic appearance for your chimney, with a mortar that has more or less contrast than your existing mortar.
In repointing, the damaged mortar is actually removed and fresh mortar laid into place. A chisel or grinder is used to get past the mortar that is already damaged, and fresh mortar is put into place. Once the fresh mortar has a chance to set and gain strength over time, it will provide additional strength to your chimney’s structural integrity.
Our experienced chimney technicians will be able to advise you as to what level of wear your masonry mortar is in and what needs to be done to repair or seal it.
Why are Tuckpointing and Repointing Important?
Your chimney can seem like a hard, impermeable surface, but like many other surfaces around your home, they will wear with time and weather. Repairing these mortar joints is important to keep your chimney strong and resilient against the elements. But why is it important to stay on top of this rare maintenance task?
- Fresh mortar upgrades your look. At its simplest form, tuckpointing delivers a fresh look. Black or almost-white mortar may have too much contrast with your bricks, or grey mortar not enough contrast with your rockwork.
- Mortar holds your chimney together. If you were to stack a few bricks or rocks on top of each other, what would it take for the weather to knock it down? Not much. Mortar contains cement, which sets up over time and fills the area between bricks to create a strong, cohesive whole.
- Worn mortar is an entry point for cracking. When mortar begins to wear and erode, it becomes easier for small amounts of water to make its way into the spaces, and when it freezes, it cracks a little. Little cracks become bigger cracks. Eventually, the mortar loses strength.
- Cracking mortar is failing mortar. As your mortar continues to crack, it stops supporting your bricks and flue tiles as well as it should. The mortar begins to fail and crumble, making it harder for your chimney to stay upright. Remember the stack of bricks? It’s getting close to that.
- Failing mortar leads to chimney reconstruction. When your mortar fails completely, you’ll start having bricks falling onto your roof or home’s exterior. These bricks will cause additional damage to those areas, and will require an expensive chimney reconstruction to use your chimney again.
If your New Braunfels chimney is having some issues with its mortar, it’s important to have the work done sooner rather than later. Fortunately, the experienced chimney professionals at Wolfman Chimney & Fireplace can help. We can get your chimney back into great shape, even if it’s been neglected. Why not reach out to our friendly team today?
Can I Fix My Chimney Mortar Myself?
Understanding what point of failure your mortar is at can be difficult, which is why we always recommend that this type of work be performed by CSIA-certified chimney professionals. Not only do you need to understand masonry work, but you also need to understand how chimneys function to do the job well.
A chimney professional understands exactly what they’re looking at when examining and repairing your chimney mortar. Because they understand how the entire system works, they won’t accidentally mix an important part of the repair that can lead to additional damage if not handled correctly.
Generally speaking, unless you’re a chimney professional, don’t try to repair your chimney’s mortar on your own. When you combine the importance of knowledge with the danger of working on a rooftop, it’s easy to see why this is one of the home repair jobs that’s best left to the professionals.
What Happens if I Don’t Get Tuckpointing or Repointing Performed?
If you decide to let your chimney’s condition go, what happens? Though chimneys seem like things that are pretty hardy, over time, more and more damage can occur. The first issues will start when you decide to pass on getting tuckpointing performed on your chimney, a process that protects the rest of your mortar from additional damage.
Failing to having tuckpointing done will lead to additional erosion, cracking, and crumbling of your chimney’s mortar. You’ll eventually hit the point that repointing will be needed, because tuckpointing along won’t be able to protect your chimney from additional damage from the elements.
The most common signs tuckpointing or repointing are needed include:
- Wearing or eroding mortar leaving indentions between the bricks
- Excess sand or grit on your roof near your chimney
- Cracking in the mortar between your bricks
- Sagging bricks due to cracking in the mortar
- Crumbling mortar
- Missing mortar between bricks
- Bricks beginning to fall due to poor mortar condition
Will my insurance cover repairs to a chimney that needs repointing?
Generally speaking, mortar failure happens over many years to decades. For that reason, if you haven’t had tuckpointing or repointing performed in this length of time, your homeowner’s insurance probably won’t cover the damage. That being said, there is one instance where a sudden occurrence could cause the damage.
If your chimney has had the mortar damaged due to a blow during a storm, such as a tree limb or flying object, it may fall under the category of storm damage or a sudden occurrence. However, it would be best to call and discuss this with your insurance agent. If you need help with the process, we’d be happy to help, providing you with evaluations and documentation, just reach out today or call now!
Will Chimney Tuckpointing Prevent Further Damage?
The tuckpointing process covers your existing mortar that has begun to erode, providing a fresh surface for erosion to occur on while protecting your existing mortar.
For this reason, any further damage will occur to the new mortar, while the existing mortar continues to provide strong bonds for your masonry chimney system and structural integrity. Over time, you’ll probably need to have tuckpointing performed again, but provided that you keep up with it, it should keep your chimney in great shape for decades.
As with many parts of your home, the better you stay on top of maintenance, the less expensive it is in the long run.
What is involved in tuckpointing and repointing?
Tuckpointing and repointing are two different processes. Tuckpointing involves using a chisel or grinder to remove the very surface of your mortar, which is then cleaned away. Once this has been done, fresh mortar is applied into the cleaned area and finished. The mortar then cures in place, gaining strength as it goes. Over time, the new mortar will wear and be replaced the next time tuckpointing is done, which is why it’s considered a maintenance task.
By comparison, repointing is done to repair damage. Though a chisel or grinder is also used, it cuts much more deeply to remove the damaged mortar. Once the damaged mortar has been removed, the area is cleaned, and fresh mortar is applied into the gap. This sometimes requires specialized tools to reach more deeply into the gap. The mortar is allowed to cure in place, gaining strength to restore the chimney’s structural integrity.
How Much Is Chimney Tuckpointing or Repointing?
Unfortunately, as with so many home services, it depends on your chimney. How big is it? Do you need tuckpointing or repointing? How bad is the damage?
As an example, if you have a single-flue chimney needs simple tuckpointing over a fairly small, exposed area of your chimney, it won’t be as costly as it would be for a three-flue chimney system that extends much further above your roofline and is exposed all the way to the foundation. Because there’s more work, it’s going to take longer and cost more.
Similarly, if you need repointing, it’s going to be more expensive than tuckpointing, because more work is involved. As with the last example, a small chimney that barely sits above your ridgeline will be much less expensive than a large, multi-flue system that has masonry work that is failing all the way down to the foundation, because more work is required.
For this reason, we highly recommend that you have regular inspections and maintenance work performed on your chimney. If you chimney is protected through tuckpointing over the decades, it may never require repointing, because it’s better protected. If it isn’t, the bill will be much higher. Our technicians are always happy to help you get your chimney back into great operational condition, no matter what shape it’s in now.
Schedule Tuckpointing or Repointing Before the Heating Season!
Your fireplace adds value to your home while delivering a cozy environment, but only when you can use it safely. Like any part of your home, regular maintenance is required so that you can use it with peace of mind. At Wolfman Chimney & Fireplace, we’re here to ensure that Austin, New Braunfels, San Antonio, and other homeowners in the region can do exactly that.
When you work with Wolfman, you’ll discover the honesty, accuracy, and personalized care we provide to every client. Enjoy peace of mind knowing that we’re certified with CISA and FIRE, NCSG members, Better Business Bureau accredited, fully insured, and ADA compliant.
We take serving homeowners and business owners across our service area very seriously, and always want you to be able to use your system with peace of mind. Contact us today by phone, or book with us online. No matter how you contact us, we’d love to chat!
At Wolfman Chimney & Fireplace, we’re proud of our work and our commitment to quality.