An elegant fireplace is one of the most attractive home accents. It’s something to brag about. Breathe new life into an older chimney or fireplace with professional tuckpointing services. At Chim Chimney, we’re legendary for designing, building, repairing, and maintaining the best fireplaces, and tuckpointing bricks is an essential part of that.
What Is Tuckpointing?
Tuckpointing involves restoring the mortar in between fireplace or chimney bricks. This means removing old, crumbly, cracked, or damaged mortar from the joints and replacing it with brand new, clean mortar. Our professionals can handle tuckpointing bricks in any location:
- Indoor fireplaces
- Outdoor fireplaces
- Chimneys
- Fire pits and custom brick barbecues
- Pizza ovens
- Wood-burning stoves
- Brick walls
This includes the interior and exterior of chimneys on the roof of your home. We can also repair fireplace surfaces and tuckpoint the hearth or firebox.
Why Is Repairing Cracked Mortar Important?
One of the most obvious and important benefits of tuckpointing is that it makes your home look more attractive. When the mortar is new, clean, and bright, it enhances the look of the entire fireplace or chimney. There are lots of other benefits, too:
- Moisture: When it comes to brick walks outside the house and rooftop chimneys, tuckpointing is a big part of protecting against moisture damage. Smooth mortar repels rain and snow, keeping it away from your home’s underlying structure.
- Safety: Cracks between the inside and outside of the chimney can let dangerous carbon monoxide and other gases escape. If you see any of these cracks, call us right away.
- Air quality: A chimney that works correctly vents smoke outside the home. That way, you can snuggle in front of a beautiful fire comfortably. Plus, this prevents smoke damage to furniture and walls.
- Invaders: Gaps in the mortar and large cracks can allow pests to get inside the home. This isn’t something you want, and fixing the problem ASAP is important.
- Money savings: Repairing small cracks prevents them from turning into huge problems with a fireplace or chimney.
What’s the Difference Between Tuckpointing and Rebuilding a Chimney or Fireplace?
Tuckpointing is limited to replacing mortar. It can make a chimney or fireplace look beautiful again while maintaining the overall style and color of the brick you love. If your fireplace is in relatively good condition, tuckpointing can save you money and make things look new.
On the other hand, rebuilding involves working with the bricks themselves. Sometimes, this involves replacing a large section of damaged brick. Or it can mean starting from scratch and creating a completely different profile for the fireplace.
When Are the Signs You Need Tuckpointing?
Most of the time, if you see a couple of hairline cracks in the mortar, you don’t need to worry. When fireplace mortar or chimney surfaces start to show a lot of smaller cracks, or mortar is crumbling and falling out, then it’s time for tuckpointing. If you see large gaps between the brick or areas without any mortar, you should call us right away. The more extensive the damage, the more urgent it is to fix the problem.
Why does mortar break down like this in the first place? Sometimes, it’s just because of the age of the fireplace or chimney. Properly installed mortar should last around 25 to 30 years. It’s natural for older homes to require tuckpointing after a while.
Excess moisture can also cause problems. If your home is in a place where there are extreme temperature changes (freeze/thaw cycles) between winter and summer, mortar is more likely to crack sooner rather than later. These issues mainly happen when the original installation was faulty.
How Does Masonry Tuckpointing Work?
The first thing our team does is evaluate the mortar of your chimney, fireplace, or other brick areas. Next, we remove all loose mortar and scrape out old or damaged portions. After that, we prepare the surrounding brick and concrete, so the new mortar adheres strongly. Finally, we fill in the gaps with the new mortar. We work carefully and professionally, keeping your house clean and leaving surfaces looking incredible.
Why Should You Call a Professional for Tuckpointing?
Trust us; you don’t want to tackle any kind of tuckpointing as a DIY project. Not only can it become a significant headache, but it’s also not safe for you or your family. As we mentioned before, chimney tuckpointing directly affects indoor air quality. You don’t want any gaps or cracks.
Also, mortar plays a considerable part in the structural integrity of brick walls and chimneys. Trying to take it out incorrectly can cause the wall to collapse. Correctly applying mortar requires training and experience, whether for a fireplace, chimney, or wall.
Why Choose Chim Chimney for Fireplace Tuckpointing?
Our experts have been doing this for over 20 years in the Hermitage, TN area. We can give you excellent results with a beautiful chimney or fireplace that works correctly for decades. We take care of everything so you can sit back with a glass of wine, relax, and enjoy your new-and-improved fireplace.
Stunning fireplaces increase your home’s value and always capture the attention of guests. It’s worth it to keep your fireplace and chimney in excellent condition with expert masonry tuckpointing. Schedule an appointment right away.
Read C Watts J.‘s review of Chim Chimney on Yelp
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