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Ottawa's Brick &Â Stone Specialist
Phone: 613-859-5090
Repointing
Improve the Conditon and Appearance of Your Masonry Structure
Mortar joints can degrade when exposed to weathering and seasonal moisture-freeze cycles. Repointing is a restorative process of removing eroded mortar joints and replacing with new mortar.
Choosing the Right Mortar for the Job
Mortar is considered sacrificial meaning the mortar should crack and weather rather than the masonry units it bonds together.
Many contractors use mortars that are too hard which prevents a wall from breathing. This can cause bricks or stones to crack.
Any joints with hard cement are treated as defective and cut out of the wall.
Old mortar samples are taken to a local masonry supplier when selecting the right dye for colour matching the existing wall.
Our goal when repointing is always for our mortars to blend in as well as possible with the original masonry.
Proper Bonding and Curing for Longevity
To ensure a proper bond with existing masonry, all mortar joints are cut out with specialized masonry tools to a minimum 25mm depth.
Debris and dust are then removed from the joints with a pneumatic blower.
Thoroughly cleaned joints are then dampened with a water mist to ensure an adequate bond and a slow curing process occurs.
The slower the curing process, the better the bond and strength will be.
Many contractors skip these fundamental steps which can cause mortar flashing. Flashing is when fresh mortar sets too quickly leading to shrinkage, loss of strength, poor bonding and blotchy colouring.
Our Repointing Services
Kavanagh Masonry offers exceptional quality repointing services for chimneys, stone foundations, brick and stone homes.
We place a strong emphasis on cleanliness and using the properly prescribed mortars for the job.
Historical signicance, preservation and dust control are always taken into consideration prior to beginning any new project.
For Chimney repointing, we highly recommend barrel finished concave joints, as shown in the image below, due to its superior weather resistance properties.
For more information on when and why you should get your masonry work repointed, check out our blog post:
Request a Quote
For more information on our repointing services and repairs, or if you are looking for an estimate, please submit the form on our Request a Quote Page. Whether your chimney, foundation, or entire home needs repointing, our services are always carried out by a meticulous, Red Seal Certified Stonemason.
