Repointing
Your mortar scrapes out with a key
Press a house key into a joint. If grit comes out and the joint sounds hollow behind it, the mortar may be worn and due for refilling. Before anyone starts, ask which mortar type goes in and what tells them it is softer than your brick. Send us what you see and where.
Tell us what you see on the wall
We help you get the repair priced by separate local masonry contractors, and tell you what to ask them first.
Three things to say before you hear a price
Say them on the phone or at the wall. The answers show how a mason works.
Which mortar type goes in, and why?
A good answer names a mix softer than your brick.
How deep will you cut the old joints?
Park Service advice is 2 to 2.5 joint widths deep.
What made the joints fail, and is that fixed first?
A leaking gutter or roof ruins new mortar too.
$100 off your first job
Book your first repair through us and take $100 off.
The $100 comes out of our fee; the mason's price stays the same.
Each customer gets one credit per property.
Book the first repair by December 31, 2026, to use it.
Say you hold the credit as you book; we confirm it before work starts.
The Soft Joint promise
- Asking us is free, and asking never ties you to anything.
- We never charge you for the introduction.
- Your $100 credit is honored exactly as our Terms say.
- If an introduction goes wrong, we help you sort it out.
The masonry work is between you and the mason you hire.
Masonry Contractors Syracuse, (315) 640-3590
What you see when this is the next call
The joint scrapes out like sand
A key or screwdriver pulls loose grit out of the joint. The mortar may have lost its bond and may no longer shed water well.
The joints sound hollow or stand open
Tap along a joint. A hollow knock, or a gap you can see into, lets water get behind the brick.
The mortar sits far back from the face
Joints worn deep leave a ledge on each brick where rain and snow sit. Ask a mason how far back yours has gone.
White powder shows on the brick
Salts left on the surface mean moisture is moving out of the wall. Ask where the water comes from before new mortar goes in.
A mason said to grind it all out
That describes a method, not a diagnosis. Ask why, how deep, which tool, what the new mortar will be, and what share of the wall truly needs it.
Inside the joint, where repointing goes wrong
- Brick
Soft old brick wears faster beside a harder mortar.
- Joint
Mortar is the part meant to give way and be replaced.
- Face
Flaking brick faces beside tight joints are the warning sign.
- Moisture
Trapped water leaves through whatever is weaker, and you want that to be the joint.
- The mix
Ask the mason to name the mortar mix and say why it suits your brick.
- Joint depth
Cut back at least twice the joint's width, so the new mortar bonds and stays put.
- The tool
Power tools can chip the edges of soft brick. Ask where hand tools will be used.
- The mix
Softer than the brick, and as soft as the old mortar or softer.
- The fill
Packed in thin layers, so no hollow forms behind the face.
Basis: NPS Technical Preservation Services, Preservation Brief 2
Straight answers about repointing
How do I tell soft mortar from hard mortar?
Scrape a hidden joint with a key. Soft mortar gives up grit, and hard mortar barely marks. Tell the mason what you found, since the new mix should be no harder than the old one.
Should the new mortar match the color of the old?
Color matters for looks, but strength and vapor flow decide whether your brick lasts. Ask for both answers, and put the type in the contract.
How long does repointed brick last?
It depends on the mix, the depth, the water on your wall and the weather. No mason can promise a number of years. Ask what they have seen on walls like yours.
Can new mortar go over the old?
Old mortar has to be cut out first, so the new mix has something solid to grip. Ask how deep the cut goes and what happens to the dust.
Can I repoint a few joints myself?
You can, but the mix and the depth are the risk. Hard bagged mortar pressed into soft brick causes the damage this page warns about. Ask a mason about your wall before you start.
Is it worth fixing only the worst section?
Sometimes. Preservation guidance favors spot repair, but says doing the whole wall can cost less once a quarter to a half of it needs work. If a quote says whole wall, ask which joints are bad and what share of the wall that is.
What does a good quote include?
The mortar type, the joint depth, the tool, the area covered and the access method. If something is missing, have it added before you compare prices.
Is it really this sign?
The marked tile, Crumbling joints, is the sign this page covers.
What your house's age changes
Older city brick
Solid brick from before the war can be soft, so the mix matters most here. Ask for a type softer than the brick, and ask where hand tools will be used.
Village cores
Village centers put old brick and newer additions on one street. Ask whether your older wall and your newer wall need different mixes.
Post-war houses
Newer brick may be harder, and some of it may be veneer. The Census does not record wall types, so ask the mason to name yours, and whether the joints need work at all.
Basis: NPS Technical Preservation Services, Preservation Brief 2 U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2020-2024 5-year, B25034 and B25035, Onondaga County
What the work includes
Raking out the old joints
The mason cuts the old mortar back to a depth set by the joint's width, using hand tools or a power tool.
Mixing the new mortar
The mix is chosen by type and proportion, and it should be softer than your brick.
Packing the joints
New mortar goes in thin layers and is pressed into the back of each joint.
Tooling and clean-up
The joints are shaped to shed water, and the wall is brushed down when the work is done.
Spot work or the whole wall
Some walls need only the worst joints redone. Others are better done end to end.
What looks alike but is another job
Veneer, pavers and outdoor kitchens
Those are other companies' work, and this site does not cover them.
Sealers and coatings
Coatings and sealers are a separate trade, and this site does not arrange them.
A crack from a window corner
That can point to the lintel over the opening. See lintel repair instead.
First call to finished wall
Show the wall
Send photos and your address, and say where the crumbling joints are.
Hear the mortar answer
Each mason tells you the mortar type, the joint depth and the tool they use.
Read what each quote covers
Check how much of the wall is included and how the high parts get reached.
Book, then see a test patch
Book your mason, look at a small patch before the full wall, and keep the written mix.
The paper trail for this repair
The mortar type, in writing
The contract should name the type and the proportions, not only the color.
The joint depth
Ask for the depth the old mortar will be cut back to, and the tool that does it.
The scope on the wall
Ask which walls, which sides and how much of each are included.
What a mason means by soft mortar
Mortar comes in letter types, from M, the hardest, down through S, N and O to K, the softest. The letters are a ladder of strength.
For old soft brick, the softer rungs are the ones to ask about. Type N suits normal new brickwork, so it is not a given for an old wall. Ask the mason to name the type and to say why it suits your brick. If the answer is only about matching the color, ask a second time.
Ask what is in the bag too. Masonry cement is a pre-blended mix with a lot of portland cement in it, and preservation guidance advises against it on old brick.
Basis: NPS Technical Preservation Services, Preservation Brief 2
Why the grinder is the question to ask
Power saws and grinders cut joints fast. Preservation guidance warns that in unskilled hands they can be disastrous for soft brick, and that on thin joints they almost always break the brick edges.
Hand tools take more hours. Ask which joints get which tool, and how the mason protects the corners of your brick. Federal rules also call for a shrouded grinder with dust collection when a hand grinder removes mortar, so ask about that too.
Then ask how deep the cut goes. Too shallow, and the new mortar has little to grip and can pop out.
Fix the water before you fix the joint
Crumbling joints can be a symptom. A leaking gutter, a roof that sheds onto the wall or damp rising from the ground can wear mortar out again, however good the new mix is.
Walk the wall in the rain if you can. Note where water runs down it or pools at its foot, and tell the masons what you saw. A mason who asks about the gutters is thinking about your wall, not only the joints.
When the weather lets mortar set
Mortar needs mild wall temperatures to cure well, and guidance puts the workable band between about 40 and 95 degrees Fahrenheit. In Syracuse the cold months fall outside that band, so the window is narrow.
Ask each mason which months they work, and how they keep new joints from freezing. Antifreeze additives are not recommended for this, so ask what they use instead. Book early enough that you are not squeezed into a cold week.
Send us a photo of the wall and your address. We help you get it priced by separate local masons, with these questions ready to ask.
Why two quotes can differ
- Handwork drives the cost of repointing, because every joint is cut and filled by hand.
- Height adds cost, since work above a ladder's reach calls for a lift or scaffolding.
- Access matters: a tight side yard, a steep roof or a fence close to the wall slows the crew down.
- Extent matters: redoing the worst joints takes less time than redoing every joint on the house.
- Weather limits when mortar can be set, so the season can change your schedule.
Find this repair in your town
Guides that go with it
Crumbling joints
Which mortar to ask for on old Syracuse brick
Mortar letters, soft against hard, and what to ask.
Crack from a corner
The crack above your window
How rusting steel lifts brick, and what to ask.
Crumbling joints
Painted brick and the lead rule
What the EPA lead rule asks of painted brick.
Any sign
Historic brick: district review and the state credit
Review boards, the state tax credit and brick repair.
Any sign
Why repointing costs what it costs
Labor, height and scope: why quotes differ.
Any sign
What your masonry contract has to say
What a New York home improvement contract must say.
Find which joint you have first.