Tuck pointing in Summit has a lot of benefits. Your brick building is usually built last. Brick is one of the most durable materials one can use to build a structure. Even if your building has been in existence for years, it may need some help at a certain point in time. One possible repair that you could come up with is tuck pointing. It addresses compromised mortar in your building. Read on as we help you understand what tuck pointing is and how you can benefit from it.

Tuck pointing in masonry

Tuck pointing involves repairing the mortar in between your building’s bricks. When mortar starts cracking, crumbling or degrading, it is no longer doing its job of redistributing weight and maintaining the structural integrity of a building. It clears out the mortar of your building and replaces it with new materials to rehabilitate and revitalize your building.

Brick pointing vs. tuck pointing

Repointing and tuck-pointing are similar because they both involve getting rid of damaged or old mortar. However, repointing involves installing the mortar so that your building is well-repaired and secure. On the other hand, tuck-pointing contributes some additional aesthetic value. A colored line or fillet is installed during tuck pointing to help your mortar stand out against the contrast of the bricks. This gives you a professional and clean impression of your building and helps you keep your building looking well-maintained and new.

Benefits of tuck pointing

As we had already said, tuck pointing involves renewing the beauty of your bricks. The mortar in your building helps seal large gaps between your bricks. When it starts breaking down, the gaps reappear and they provide access to the inner walls of your home.

Through the gaps, moisture and water can wick into your business or home, causing rotting wood and mold. In the case of mold, there is no evidence that there is a problem until it is severe or hard to treat. Thus, fixing your mortar as soon as possible is very important when it comes to preventative maintenance.

Moisture isn’t the only thing that creeps into your building through mortar holes. Other things such as pests and small animals such as rats can pass through the holes depending on how large the holes are.

Structural integrity

Whilst moisture intrusion is a very large part of the benefits of tuck pointing, you should remember that the mortar between the bricks serves another purpose besides acting as a sealant. The bricks that make up your building weigh a lot. Gravity pulls down the weight and the mortar makes sure there is an even distribution of the weight across the bricks.

When your mortar starts failing, some sections of your building can get affected by the heaviness of the bricks. If the issue worsens, it can cause cracking, bulging or collapse. Tuck pointing in Summit restores the structural integrity of your mortar so that it can do its job of redistributing the weight of the building. It is best done when issues are still small before your bricks start bulging or cracking.