While your home’s brickwork may look fine from afar, you may notice small signs of breakdown if you look closely. This is normal and happens with time and the weather. The mortar between your bricks acts as a kind of glue, keeping the whole structure together. But when ravaged by weather, moisture, and seasonal freeze-thaw cycles, the mortar joints begin to deteriorate – even if the bricks themselves look OK.
This is when you need to hire a professional contractor for tuckpointing in Royal Oak MI. This important form of brick repair involves removing old, crumbling mortar and replacing it with new mortar. This process is designed to restore the structural integrity and appearance of your brickwork. If you don’t do anything to address the crumbling mortar, water can seep in between the bricks, displace them, and even lead to expensive and unsafe structural issues.
Take a look at the top warning signs that you need tuckpointing in Royal Oak and beyond.
1. Loose or Shifting Bricks
Your bricks need mortar to stay in place. Without it, they will start to experience damage. As a result, you may notice loose, shifting, or bulging bricks. Much more than just a cosmetic concern, this is a safety issue that needs to be addressed promptly. If ignored, that part of the structure could collapse or compromise other sections.
Tuckpointing will boost the strength of the mortar joints so the bricks are locked in place once again.
2. Cracked or Missing Mortar Joints
Be on the lookout for visible damage to the mortar joints, such as:
- Cracks
- Gaps
- Missing sections
These are indications that thejoints have begun to fail. With time, mortar dries out, shrinks, and erodes, especially with the added stress of freeze/thaw cycles. As a result, water is invited in, which hastens the damage.
3. Leaks and Damp Spots
Are you seeing damp spots on interior walls, white efflorescence (AKA salt deposits), or leaks? Deteriorating mortar could be to blame. When mortar joints become cracked, water penetrates into the wall system, causing interior damage, mold growth, and rot in wooden framing. When you hire a masonry contractor for tuckpointing in Metro Detroit, this helps to seal the joints properly to keep moisture at bay.
4. Old Brickwork
You may not necessarily see obvious signs of damage, but if your brickwork is older than 20 years, the mortar is coming to the end of its natural lifespan. With regular maintenance, you can extend that lifespan, boost curb appeal, and increase your property value. Why wait until you have a crumbling mess when you can make preventive adjustments now to save yourself money and hassle later?
5. Deterioration
Because they experience constant exposure to the elements, chimneys and foundation walls are especially vulnerable to mortar damage. Be on the lookout for:
- Spalling bricks (flaking or breaking)
- Crumbling joints
- Settling
Weak chimneys not only look unsightly, they are a serious fire hazard; crumbling foundation mortar can cause expensive structural repairs later on. In both cases, you will need tuckpointing to stabilize these areas and stop the spiral of damage.
Even professionally-installed, high-quality brickwork can succumb to damage over time when the mortar starts to crumble and preventive maintenance is ignored.It’s best to restore the structural integrity, appearance, and weather resistance of your masonry work with tuckpointing at the beginning stages of decay.
Contact Mortar City Masonry
Whether you need a simple repair or comprehensive tuckpointing job, our masonry contractors in Royal Oak MI can recommend the best course of action. Get a free quote and consultation when you contact us at (586) 533-1305.
