What Is The Difference Between Brick Repointing and Tuckpointing?

The terms repointing (or pointing) and tuckpointing are often used interchangeably, especially by brick pointing Surrey service providers, which has led to a bit of confusion in the industry. However, these two terms don’t mean the same thing. Read on to understand the difference between brick repointing and tuckpointing.

What is Tuckpointing?

Tuckpointing is a masonry technique that is sometimes used by Surrey contractors in the construction or maintenance of brick walls and walkways. To implement this masonry technique, technicians use two different colours of mortar, with one of the mortar colours being identical to the colour of the bricks themselves. This produces a uniform look to the finished brickwork.

Tuckpointing can be traced to late 18th century Great Britain, where builders used this technique to mimic the smooth look of brick structures that were built with rubbed bricks. Traditionally, rubbed bricks were made from a mixture of clay and sand, then fired and rubbed to give the bricks a smooth finish. These rubbed bricks were more expensive than unrubbed bricks, which were typically made with inferior clay and other low-grade materials.

To achieve the same smooth finish with unrubbed bricks, builders would fill the joints along the rough surface of the unrubbed bricks with white mortar, which would leave the impression of a smooth surface similar to that of the more expensive rubbed bricks. By utilising this technique (tuckpointing), the rough surfaces of the unrubbed brick varieties would be effectively filled, which made it possible to produce the same attractive look and texture to brick structures made from the expensive rubbed bricks.

In years past, tuckpointing was an extremely popular masonry technique, but it’s rarely utilised in new constructions today. Most brick pointing contractors Surrey companies usually use this technique only when restoring historical buildings and various brick edifices that are built in the period between the late 18th century and the early years of the 20th century.

What is Brick Repointing?

Brick repointing is probably the most popular service offered by brick pointing Surrey companies. Some repointing Surrey contractors may refer to it as "mortar pointing" or "mortar re-pointing." They are all the same thing. Simply put: it is an intensive process that involves removing and replacing crumbling, deteriorated or missing mortar between bricks, blocks and stones. As you might suspect, it’s carried out when the mortar between the bricks is decaying or breaking down and "fretting."

Bad mortar joints may negatively affect the appearance and water proofing of a brick structure. Repointing ensures the waterproofing in your brick walls and restores the overall appearance of your brickwork. While brick repointing is a relatively simple and straightforward task, it’s often labour intensive and demands a high level of skill to get it right. It is, therefore, advisable to enlist the services of professional brick pointing contractors Surrey providers when you want to repair bad mortar joints.

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