Repointing brick is a conservation technique used to replace some mortar joints with new mortar without damaging the bricks. It increases the service life of exterior masonry walls and might be necessary when it shows signs of deterioration. The cost for this type of restoration will depend on how much material is needed.
How Much does It Cost in Australia per Square Metre?
In Australia, the cost for brick repointing depends on how much material you will need. It is difficult to give an estimate without knowing how much of your stone wall needs to be repointed. The average cost of one square metre of the reporting stone wall cost in Sydney is around $30 – $60 AUD.
An article by Backman how much does brick repointing cost in Adelaide states that if your home needs both external and internal areas repaired, then it could be cheaper than you think: around $20-$25 AUD per square metre for exterior work and around $25-$30 AUD per square metre for interior work (materials included).
Background information about brick repointing costs for a brick house.
How Much does Brick Repointing Cost Vary from Place to Place?
Repointing brick costs between $5 to $25 per linear metre. Brick repointing with Portland cement-based mortar costs around $50+ per square metre, while lime mortar can run between $60 and $100 per square metre.
Replacing deteriorating brickwork entirely may be costly, depending on how extensive the damage is. Removing and replacing a few brick veneer elements might cost $3,000 to $5,000 per linear metre. Replacing the entire brick veneer, including the backing and roofing, could run in the $25,000 to $100,000 range.
Who Should Consider Repointing Brick Walls?
Boards used to cover the existing mortar joints of a brick wall may deteriorate over time. This is an early sign that repointing brick would be necessary for exterior walls. If the damage has multiplied, repointing might not be enough and replacing the structure’s entire exterior is more likely to analyse repointing costs.
Look out for the following signs of damage if you want to know how much it would cost to repoint brick:
- Cracks in the existing mortar joints between the brick elements
- Rust stains in the surrounding brick
- Damp patches on exterior brick wall
- Deterioration of painted stucco
- Brick wall shifting and separation from the footing of the structure
If you notice any of these signs on your exterior masonry structure, you should hire a contractor how much does brick repointing costs to determine how extensive the damage is and how it can be repaired.
When Should You Consider Repointing a Brick Wall?
The need for this type of restoration will depend on how heavily a property is being used Prolonged exposure to salt comes with a higher risk of damage, as does heavy impact from vehicles.
The older a building’s bricks are, the less frequently they were manufactured using modern brick repointing techniques.
When Should Brick Repointing Take Place?
Typically, repointing should be done every 10 to 20 years on brick costs. Not only could the bricks themselves be at risk of damage due to weather, but also the new mortar used in between them how much does repointing brick cost.
Repairs need to happen before serious damage sets on or after it’s happened how bricks.
Every type of masonry has different techniques for repointing bricks. For instance, when you are repairing a stone walls structure using limestone, then an experienced contractor would likely repair it with lime-based mortar how much does repointing brick cost.
Tuckpointing vs Repointing?
Tuckpointing is the process of removing cement from between the joints in brick, replacing it with a stronger bonding agent, such as mortar. This technique is commonly used to seal and waterproof the brick on older buildings.
Repointing, on the other hand, uses new or different brick to fill in faulty joints or cracks in surface bricks. It was most often used in the past when brick became old and fragile and needed stronger mortar to hold it together and keep water out of the building.
Mortar Types Australia
In Australia, brick mortars are typically made of sand, cement and water. This sand-based mortar is easy to mix and has the consistency of peanut butter.
Suspended particles in the sand create a number of problems, such as air gaps that cause the fresh mortar to dry slowly. When the sand was the main component in old mortar, it tended to shrink away from the brick, leaving air gaps and compromising how well the brick sticks together.
However, today’s new sand-based mortars use a combination of sand and a small amount of Portland cement mixed together with water at higher temperatures. The increased temperature enables the sand particles to be more compacted before they mix into the mortar mix.
This updated manufacturing technique results in a slurry-like new mortar that looks like thick, white glue. Once applied, it can be moulded into place and has a fast set time; allowing bricklayers to get on with their work quickly.
Lime Tuckpointing
Another tuckpointing technique is lime tuckpointing. This process uses lime-based mortar, which dries to a harder consistency than the traditional sand-based powder mortars used for bricklayers today.
Unlike sand, lime particles are solid and will not shrink away from the brick. This chemical mortar also provides an excellent watertight seal.
Lime can be added to any other type of old mortar to improve its properties, including how quickly the mortar sets up and how strong it is, but it provides less flexibility to work with during application.
Lime tuckpointing must be applied using an old fashion square trowel that maintains a vertical motion while layering the adhesive over the brick joints
Since lime has no colour, bricklayers usually add pigments to create a colour-matched mortar. This powdery substance is available in a variety of shades and is typically mixed into the tuckpointing old mortar at a rate of 10-20 percent.
