Mortar crumbling or cracking out of your brick joints? We cut out the bad joints and refill them so the wall is sound again.
Tuckpointing in Yakima, WA is cutting the worn mortar out from between your bricks and packing the joints with fresh mortar, so the wall stays tight and the brick keeps doing its job.
Most calls start with something you can see from the yard. There's sandy mortar on the ground under a wall, joints sunk back from the face of the brick, or a crack running up the side of a chimney, and sometimes it's a damp spot on the inside. I'll tell you straight whether the joints need work now or can wait, because I'd rather lose a job than sell you one you don't need.
The price mostly comes down to how many joints are failing, how high the work goes and whether we need scaffolding to reach it, and whether some bricks need replacing along with the mortar. The schedule turns on the weather, because fresh mortar needs mild days to set. One national cost guide suggests spring or fall, when daytime temperatures stay between 40 and 90 degrees for at least 24 to 72 hours, and says emergency work in winter or extreme heat will likely cost more. When I come out, your estimate gives you the figure for your wall.
From the first look at your wall to the last walk-around, here's who you deal with and what you get at each step.
I come out to every job myself, look at the joints with you up close and tell you what I see. I started this business in Yakima in 2023 after years laying brick and block for a big commercial outfit, where somebody was always checking the work.
Your estimate spells out which sections I'd repoint, which I'd leave alone and what the job comes to. If part of it can wait, the estimate says that too.
We're fully licensed and insured. If you go ahead, we check what the local office needs, our crew does the work while I stay involved, and I walk the finished wall with you.
First I look for why the joints failed, like a gutter dumping water down the wall or a cap letting rain into the top, because new mortar won't hold up if the water keeps getting in. Then we mark the joints that are cracked, crumbling or hollow and cut out only those, leaving the sound ones alone so you aren't paying to redo good work. Before we touch the whole wall, we put a small test patch somewhere out of sight, because sand color and the type of cement change how mortar looks once it dries, and you get to see it next to your old joints first.
Joints and brick often go together. If a brick is cracked or its face has broken off, replacing it is brick repair, and we usually take care of it while we're working on that wall. We also lay driveway pavers, so if the drive leading up to your house needs work, I can look at that on the same visit.
Once you've okayed the color, this is the order the crew works in.
We lay tarps over plants, walks and windowsills below the wall, because cutting old mortar throws a lot of grit. It also keeps mortar off anything we're not working on.
We take the old mortar out to an even depth so the new mortar has a solid bed to grab. Grinders cut fast but can nick the brick on either side of a joint, so we don't rush that part, and that's how the brick stays in one piece.
We pack fresh mortar firmly into each joint so there are no hollow spots, then shape it to match the profile of your old joints. That shape matters, because it decides how water runs off the wall.
Once the mortar has firmed up, we brush the brick face clean so you don't end up with smears. Then we pull the tarps, sweep up and haul off the debris.
Send a few photos of the cracked or crumbling joints with your address, or call (509) 452-1015, and we'll get back to you within one business day. I'll set a time to come look at the wall with you, and the estimate is free, done on site and comes with no obligation.
(509) 452-1015Your brick likely needs tuckpointing if the mortar has worn back more than 1/4 inch from the brick face, is crumbling, has holes in it or shows cracks, including hairline cracks and gaps between the brick and the mortar. Small cracks count, not only joints that are falling apart. If you're not sure, send photos or have me look, and if it can wait, I'll tell you.
Mortar usually lasts about 25 to 50 years, while the brick itself can last 100 years or more. The mortar wears out long before the brick does, and that's the whole reason older brick walls need their joints redone.
New mortar should be about as strong as the original or weaker, not stronger. A stronger mix pushes the load onto a thin strip at the edge of the joint, which can make the face of the brick break away, and that damage can't be repaired. That's why we match the mortar to your wall instead of grabbing the hardest mix on the shelf.
Use the state's contractor verification tool to see whether a contractor has an active license and is bonded and insured for damages that may happen. Look up anyone you're thinking of hiring, us included, before work starts.
Inside city limits, Yakima's Codes office handles general permitting, and you can reach it at codes@yakimawa.gov or its main phone line. That's who we check with for addresses in the city, and if your job needs a permit, we take care of the paperwork with you.
Yakima has plenty of older brick homes and buildings. If yours might count as historic, the city's Historic Preservation Commission decides which properties are eligible and checks that improvements fit the state's standards for rehabilitation and maintenance, and it also keeps tabs on properties with special valuation agreements, so send any historic preservation questions to the city's Planning Division at ask.planning@yakimawa.gov. We work out of Yakima and take jobs in the cities around it, from Selah and Union Gap to Sunnyside, and if you don't see your city listed, call and ask.
Fixing joints while the brick around them is still whole usually keeps the job to mortar, so call (509) 452-1015 or use the form.
If you're not sure your joints need work yet, ask us and you'll get a straight answer either way.
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