Repointing Kent | Brick & Lime Repointing

Raking out properly, not skimming over

The single most common failure we are called out to fix is mortar smeared over the top of the old joints. It looks acceptable for a season, has no grip, and falls out in sheets — usually taking brick arrises with it.

Joints have to be raked back to roughly twice their width to give the new mortar something to key into. We rake out by hand where the brick is soft or historic, because an angle grinder run along a joint on a Victorian terrace widens the joint, chews the arrises and leaves a wall that can never be pointed to look right again.

Matching the mix to the brick

The rule is simple: the mortar must always be weaker than the brick. Modern hard facing brick can take a cement-based mix. Soft red Weald brick, London yellow stock and anything on a period property cannot — a hard cement pointing traps moisture in the brick and forces it to evaporate through the brick face, which spalls it off in frost.

On those walls we use a lime mortar, matched for colour and aggregate to what was there originally. It stays breathable, it stays flexible, and it means the mortar keeps taking the punishment rather than the brickwork.

Getting the joint profile right

Joint profile is what makes repointing look either invisible or obvious from the other side of the street. A weather-struck joint sheds water and suits most exposed elevations. A bucket-handle joint compacts well and is common on modern brickwork. Flush pointing suits soft, irregular period brick where a struck joint would look wrong.

We match what the wall already has, iron the joints at the right moment while the mortar is at the correct firmness, and brush off cleanly so the finished face is not hazed with mortar smears.

What this covers

Joints raked out to twice their width
Mortar matched for strength, colour and texture
Lime mortar for period and soft brickwork
Original joint profile reinstated

Where we do this work

We carry out repointing throughout Kent — Maidstone, Staplehurst, Marden, Paddock Wood, Cranbrook, Tonbridge, Tunbridge Wells, Sevenoaks, Ashford, Canterbury and Dartford — and travel into Essex, London and Surrey. See the full list of areas we cover, or send us a postcode and we will confirm.

Common questions

Repointing — your questions answered

How do I know if my brickwork needs repointing?

Run a key or a screwdriver along a joint. If mortar crumbles away easily, or if you can see joints recessed more than a few millimetres behind the brick face, it is due. Other signs are sandy deposits at the base of the wall, damp patches inside on an external wall, and loose or shifting bricks.

Should my house be repointed in lime or cement mortar?

It depends on the brick and how the wall was built. Solid-wall properties built before roughly 1919, and anything with soft or handmade brick, should be pointed in lime. Modern cavity-wall properties with hard facing brick are normally pointed in a cement-based mix. We will tell you which yours is when we look at it.

Can you repoint just one section of a wall?

Yes, and it is often the sensible option — south and west elevations weather far faster than sheltered ones. We match the new pointing to the existing so a repaired section does not stand out, though bear in mind newly pointed mortar always looks fresher until it has weathered in.

Will repointing stop my damp problem?

It will stop water getting in through open joints, which is a common cause of penetrating damp on exposed walls. It will not fix rising damp, a failed DPC, a leaking gutter or a blocked cavity — and we would rather identify the real cause than sell you pointing that does not solve the problem.

Recent work