Tuckpointing To Give The Brick Masonry Work A Nice Touch

By Author: vikram kuamr
Total Articles: 2912
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The idea behind tuckpointing is to give the impression that fine joints have been made between the bricks. It gives the brick masonry work a nice contrast between mortar and the bricks themselves. The technique has its roots from the days when cheap and uneven bricks were used in the brick masonry field. Tuckpointing was done to give the walls a good finished look. Before the mortar sets either pipe clay, putty or mortar is used to fill the joints. If a good job is done, then you can make any brick wall look very good. This process is not only done to newly built brick walls. After a while the wall is bound show its age. When this happens, you have the option of redoing pointing and make it look better as well as safer.

The reason why it is called tuckpointing is because the mortar or clay is literally tucked in between the bricks. As mentioned before, any brick masonry work will get damaged over the years and develop cracks and fissures. This is harmful for the wall as water can enter the cracks. In order to repair it, a layer of damaged mortar is cut and replaced with fresh mortar. This may sound very simplistic but ...
... it will give a brick wall a new lease of life. Generally the mortar will be cut at a depth of ¾ inch and removed. After that has been done masons will put new mortar. The idea is to put as much mortar as possible in a given area.

There are 2 basic reasons why mortar in a brick wall will get damaged and tuckpointing will be needed. The first one is weather related. The wall is exposed to water, heat and cold. The temperature changes causes the bricks and mortar to expand and contract, causing cracking. The other reason is because any building over the years will settle or shift a little on its foundation. This is why it is very important to have this kind of maintenance done to a building from time to time.

Brick masonry can be described as the construction of a wall using uniform units, in this case bricks. These units are light enough to be picked up by one hand and laid on top of each other, and then using mortar to hold them together. Bricks are made with a combination of baked clay and shale. The amounts of clay and shale used will depend on what type of brick is being made. Generally the more clay used, the smoother the finish of the bricks will be. In order to build a sturdy and even brick wall, skilled brick masons will be needed to do the brick masonry work required. An excellent place to find such masons is Bruno construction Company.

Author Bio.

If a building or house you own has reached a point where tuckpointing is needed or if you need new brick masonry work done, then giving Bruno Next Generation Construction Company a call will be a good start.