Last week, I fielded no fewer than five phone calls from homeowners with the same grim news. They found it nearly impossible to get quotes from contractors to do fairly simple repairs. Each caller’s ...

Avoid costly damage to brick or stone structures by repointing loose, cracked or crumbling mortar. Step 1: Use a cold chisel and a hammer to clean out the mortar joint to be repaired. Place the chisel ...

The University of Virginia Chapel was swathed in scaffolding for the new year. Facilities Management’s historic masons, specializing in historic preservation, have been working on repointing the ...

Repointing brickwork is usually required at least once or twice per century. Wear, weather and structural stresses cause the mortar between bricks to deteriorate over the decades, until you’re left ...

DEAR TIM: My 10-year-old house developed some cosmetic cracks in the mortar. I got some bids to have tuck-pointing work done and nearly gagged when I looked at the cost. I’m wondering about using a ...

The perceived increasing use of ‘restoration mortars’ for the conservation of historic masonry is often viewed as controversial due to the long-standing contention associated with ‘plastic’ repairs in ...

Pointing is the process of creating the mortar joints between bricks in a piece of brickwork. When old mortar is partially removed and replaced, this is called repointing. If you’ve looked closely at ...

One of the pleasures of walking Brooklyn’s streets is seeing the glorious brickwork in all its many hues, shapes, textures and patterns. Here, a brief history of brick in the borough of homes and ...