This maintenance procedure stops water from penetrating brick or stone walls by replacing the weathered outer layer of mortar. Workers use grinders or hand chisels to remove the crumbling material to a specific depth, then pack new mortar into the joints and tool it to shed water. Using a mortar that is softer than the surrounding masonry is critical to prevent the bricks from spalling during freeze-thaw cycles.
Heard on the job
The chimney is leaking because the joints are shot, so we'll have to repoint the whole stack this week.
Also heard as
- tuckpoint