The cost to repoint brick is $1,450 on average, but normally costs between $400 and $2,500 and up to $40,000, depending on how extensive your project is.
There's nothing like a beautiful brick home in all its glory! A brick facelift using repointing is often necessary to get older brick looking on point again. Repointing involves replacing old, decaying mortar with fresh mortar. Depending on how in-depth your project is, you could spend up to $40,000 for repointing, though most homeowners pay closer to $1,450. A number of factors can affect the total project cost when repointing a brick house. These include home size, accessibility, scaffolding requirements, and special detailing needed for chimneys. In this cost guide to repointing brick, we’ll help you figure out what your project will cost and provide some tips to save money along the way.
The average cost to repoint brick is around $1,450 for 100 square feet of brick. However, it’s not uncommon for some project costs to go as low as $400 or as high as $2,500 per 100 square feet, depending on a few different factors. The results you get from repointing brick in and around your home can last up to 30 years, making repointing an affordable way to improve your home’s aesthetic.
Completing brickwork around the house requires careful attention to detail and safety precautions. Consider hiring a pro to ensure the job is done well.
Brick repointing typically starts with a mortar composition analysis that allows masonry experts to properly match new mortar with your home's existing mortar. Costing between $200 and $500, this step is important because using the wrong mortar can potentially cause or promote structural damage down the road.
If you don't have a home built before 1900, your local masonry contractors may recommend a mortar color analysis costing between $100 and $300 instead. This process provides you with lab-matched color results to ensure your new mortar matches the existing mortar perfectly. Homeowners living in historical or landmark districts may be required to complete professional color matching in order to get district approval for a repointing project.
Matching your mortar may not be necessary if you’re planning on painting the brick, but any other finish, like acid wash on your brick exterior, will lead to different coloration of the mortar if the color isn’t matched exactly before the treatment begins.
When charging hourly for repointing services, masonry rates range from $50 to $100 per hour in most cases. Most masonry companies charge per project based on the size of your home, which takes the expected completion time into consideration.
You can expect most masonry work professionals to charge a minimum job fee for smaller "patch-up" jobs that can range anywhere from $300 to $2,000 if they don’t charge by the square foot.
Any extra attention or touches needed to repoint your home successfully will increase your project costs. While some extra touches are aesthetically pleasing, others are necessary because they are restorative.
If you're selecting decorative or thematic repointing, expect to pay more for any work that needs to be chiseled by hand. Intricate repointing work can increase the overall project cost by anywhere from 25% to 100%. If your home's design has extra corners, borders, and joints, this can also increase costs by 25% to 50% because these areas will require handcrafting.
Expect your masonry contractor to suggest waterproofing your brick or stone as part of your project. Waterproofing after repointing extends the lifespan of mortar in climates with heavy snowfall levels, rainfall, moisture, or humidity. Waterproofing costs between $1 and $4 per square foot and is often well worth the added investment.
On average, brick wall repair costs between $20 and $40 per square foot. That cost covers repairing chipped or flaking bricks. Structural cracks can cost well over $1,000 to repair, especially if you need foundation repairs to correct the underlying problem.
When repointing your brick, masonry contractors are likely to take a look at your chimney crown to see if it needs repairs. Repairing a chimney crown costs between $300 and $2,200, but the cost to replace a chimney crown is much higher, up to $3,000.
If you have exterior walls or a chimney above 8 feet tall, your masonry pro is going to need to set up some scaffolding to complete the project. Most masons charge between 20% and 40% more for work above 8 feet than they do for ground-level work due to the scaffolding, extra time, and extra equipment needed.
If areas are blocked or difficult to access, your mason may also add a premium for the extra time and labor needed to repoint these spots. These include exterior areas above bump outs or landscaping features that make setting up scaffolding a challenge.
Your masonry expert is likely to inform you that your new mortar won't set properly unless you clean your bricks before starting your repointing job. The average cost to power wash a whole house is $310. You could opt to do this yourself, although the equipment cost could end up being higher than the price to hire a professional.
You’ll also want to plan to clean the mortar off bricks after the work is done. Ask your masonry pro if that’s included in their quoted repointing brick cost estimate.
Brick repointing is a labor-intensive process. If done incorrectly, you could actually negatively impact the structural integrity of the brick wall. Sometimes, the brick you need to repoint is higher up on your home, which also poses risks for homeowners on ladders and scaffolding.
Given the expert knowledge required to repoint brick, as well as some of the risks involved, we highly recommend working with a trained and certified masonry expert instead of trying to DIY your brick repointing project. Here’s how to hire the best masonry contractor for your home — as well as some questions to ask before hiring a masonry contractor.
The telltale signs that your home is ready for repointing include visibly damaged bricks, crumbling bricks, flaking bricks, loose mortar, cracked mortar, gaps between brick and mortar, leaking inside your home, and visible water damage. Consider repointing when going over brick house pros and cons if you're buying a new home. Repointing is also a good idea if you plan to paint, acid wash, or stain your brick home, as it will give you a good base for coloration and prevent repairs after the work is done.
Repointing is the process of removing old and decaying mortar from the joints between bricks before adding new mortar that matches the previous mortar color. While tuckpointing is similar, it is a much more expensive process because it involves replacing the removed mortar with new mortar that is followed by a line of contrasting putty to create the aesthetic of fine joint lines.
Repointing brick is recommended every 25 to 30 years. Professional repointing can easily last this long if you're following all basic brick and stone maintenance tips. However, you may find that you need repointing more often if you live in an area that sees harsh weather or if the construction of your home was rushed. Additionally, if you DIY your brick repointing, you’re more likely to find that you need additional repointing more often, so every 10 to 15 years might be more appropriate.
Repointing helps to stop cracks and deterioration in a home's bricks before the bricks become loose or cracked. It may help to keep walls from crumbling and falling. Repointing is mostly an aesthetic home improvement, but it can also add stability to your brick walls. The bricks are only as strong as the mortar that supports them, so deteriorating mortar can eventually cause structural issues for your home if left unaddressed.
Proper repointing requires expertise and precision, especially when it comes to matching your mortar color exactly and working around corners in your home’s exterior. In addition to helping to preserve the structural integrity of your home, repointing also adds aesthetic value for both newer and historic homes, so the cost is worthwhile.
