Repointing vs tuckpointing: what is the difference

People use these two words as if they mean the same thing. They do not. Both deal with the mortar joints between bricks, but one is structural maintenance and the other is a decorative finish common on Melbourne's period homes.

Repointing

Repointing is raking out old, crumbling mortar and replacing it with fresh mortar. It is the bread and butter of brick maintenance.

• Done when joints have weathered back, gone soft, or started letting water in.
• The new mortar is matched to the old in colour and, importantly, in hardness.
• It protects the wall, because the mortar is meant to be the sacrificial part that wears before the brick does.

Getting the mix right matters. Mortar that is too hard for old soft bricks will push the damage into the bricks themselves, which is a far bigger problem to fix.

Tuckpointing

Tuckpointing is a decorative technique you will see on a lot of Victorian and Edwardian homes around inner Melbourne. It creates the look of very fine, precise joints.

• The joint is filled with a coloured mortar matched to the brick.
• A thin line of contrasting fine putty (often white or near white) is then laid into the centre.
• The result is a crisp ribbon line that makes the brickwork look neat and high end.

It is a skilled, slow, hand craft. Not every bricklayer does it, and doing it badly looks worse than leaving it alone.

Which one do you need

It comes down to what your wall needs and the look you want.

• Joints failing and water getting in: that is repointing, a maintenance job.
• Period home where you want to restore that fine traditional line: that is tuckpointing.
• Often a wall needs the joints sorted first, then the tuckpointed finish on top.

If you have an older Melbourne home and you are not sure which your walls had originally, send through a close photo of the joints and your suburb. We can tell you what it is and what would suit it.