Unpopular take: Tuckpointing is overrated for most old brick walls

I was on a job at a 1920s storefront in Cleveland last fall where the owner insisted on tuckpointing, and it just hid the real problem with moisture behind the brick. Spent $3,200 making it look pretty, but six months later the same spots were crumbling again. Anybody else think repointing is a better fix unless it's a historic landmark?

2 comments

2 Comments

brooke7671mo ago

The thing nobody talks about is that tuckpointing can actually trap moisture in the wall if the lime mortar underneath isn't breathable (especially on those old soft bricks). Sounds like your guy just slapped a cosmetic bandaid on a drainage issue instead of addressing where the water was getting in.

robertb471mo ago

Yeah the whole point of old brick is that it breathes. Tuckpointing just seals up a wall that needs to dry out.