With decades of experience in masonry and chimney services we guarantee top tier results that preserve and enhance your home’s value.

Mastering Tuckpointing to Restore Your Home’s Beauty

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RedBrick Masonry Contractors & Tuckpointing

With an unwavering commitment to quality and precision, we specialize in masonry and tuckpointing services designed to enhance the longevity and beauty of your property. Our company’s skilled craftsmen have been delivering exceptional results for years, using only the finest materials and techniques to ensure each project is completed to perfection. Whether it’s restoring historical brickwork, repairing chimney masonry, or installing custom stone features, we have the expertise to handle it all. We take pride in offering personalized solutions that are tailored to each client’s specific needs and preferences. When you choose us, you can be confident that your masonry and tuckpointing projects are in the best hands.

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Illinois Weather Rarely Damages Every Part of a Mortar Joint at Once

Mortar deterioration is often uneven. A south-facing wall may experience strong solar heating followed by a rapid temperature drop after sunset. A shaded elevation can stay damp longer. Lower courses may receive splashback from pavement or melting snow, while exposed parapets and chimney walls take the full force of wind-driven rain. That is why weathered joints tend to develop patterns. Mortar may first become sandy at the surface, recede behind the face of the brick, or begin separating along one edge of the joint. These small changes affect how quickly the wall sheds water. Brick Industry Association maintenance guidance recommends inspecting mortar joints for cracking, erosion, voids, and other deterioration that can require repointing. Cold weather makes retained moisture especially important. Freeze-thaw damage is linked to moisture within masonry, and NPS preservation guidance specifically discusses mortar performance in northern freeze-thaw climates. The practical lesson is simple: a joint that repeatedly becomes wet and stays wet deserves attention before winter exposes the weakness again.

Repeated Wetting

Mortar exposed to rain and splashback can remain damp longer than surrounding areas, especially where drainage or drying conditions are poor.

Freezing Moisture

When moisture is present in vulnerable masonry during freezing conditions, repeated freeze-thaw exposure can contribute to surface loss and deterioration.

Rapid Weather Changes

Different elevations heat, cool, wet, and dry at different rates. Those exposure differences help explain why one side of a building may need repointing before another.

Recessed Joints

As mortar erodes deeper behind the brick face, the geometry of the joint changes and defects become easier places for water to enter the exterior masonry surface.

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CORROSION ABOVE THE OPENING

A Rusting Lintel Changes More Than the Color of the Steel

Steel lintels are easy to overlook because much of the structural element is concealed by masonry. When moisture reaches inadequately protected steel, corrosion can develop out of sight. Brick Industry Association guidance treats corrosion protection, flashing, weeps, deflection, and masonry movement as related lintel design concerns rather than separate details.

Moisture Reaches the Lintel

Water entering the wall must be collected and directed outward. Where flashing or drainage conditions do not perform correctly, moisture may remain around steel components.

Corrosion Develops

As the protective condition of the steel deteriorates, rust begins forming. Early evidence may appear as staining along the opening before major masonry displacement becomes obvious.

Surrounding Masonry Is Disturbed

Corrosion products occupy space around the steel. Pressure and movement at the lintel zone can contribute to cracked joints, displaced brick, or distress concentrated directly above the opening.

The Lintel Condition Is Evaluated

The question is no longer simply whether a crack can be repointed. Steel condition, lintel deflection, bearing, corrosion protection, and water management all influence whether localized repair or lintel replacement is appropriate. BIA guidance warns against rule-of-thumb lintel design because loads, stresses, and serviceability matter.

Rust staining is useful because it gives the wall a visible clue, but the stain itself is not the structural diagnosis. Repointing cracked mortar above a corroding lintel may improve the surface temporarily while leaving the steel and moisture condition unchanged. The opening should be read from the inside out: first understand the support, then the drainage, then the brickwork that has responded to both.

THERMAL MASS AND MASONRY

Brick Responds Slowly to Temperature Changes. That Matters.

Lightweight materials can change temperature relatively quickly. Masonry has greater mass and can absorb, store, and later release heat. This behavior is known as thermal mass. Brick Industry Association technical guidance describes brick masonry as a high-mass material with thermal storage capacity. That does not mean a brick facade should be treated as insulation. R-value and thermal mass describe different properties, and the position of masonry within the wall assembly affects how much thermal storage benefits building performance. BIA notes that thermal mass is most effective when located on the interior side of insulation, as in certain mass wall assemblies, and that current codes do not treat brick veneer thermal mass the same way. The distinction is useful in Illinois, where exterior temperatures can change considerably across seasons and even during shorter weather shifts. Brick’s value lies in being part of a complete wall system: masonry, insulation, drainage, air control, and interior materials each perform a different task.

Slower Temperature Response

High-mass masonry can store and release heat rather than responding immediately to every temperature fluctuation.

Works as Part of an Assembly

Brick should be considered together with insulation and the rest of the wall construction, not described as a substitute for thermal insulation.

Thermal Loads Can Be Delayed

The heat-storage characteristics of mass walls can shift the timing of peak heating or cooling loads under appropriate wall configurations.

Wall Design Changes Performance

The location of masonry relative to insulation affects how effectively thermal mass contributes to the building envelope.

MORTAR COMPATIBILITY

Sometimes the Stronger Mortar Is the Wrong Mortar

A masonry wall is not improved simply by installing the hardest material available. Historic brick and mortar were intended to function together, and changing one component can alter where moisture moves and where stress is concentrated. National Park Service guidance emphasizes matching replacement mortar to the historic masonry in physical properties rather than assuming higher cement strength means a better repair.

The Joint Can Be the Sacrificial Element

In many historic masonry assemblies, mortar is expected to weather before the brick. NPS preservation guidance describes historic mortar as sacrificial, helping protect masonry units as moisture moves through the wall.

Older Brick May Be Relatively Soft

A dense, high-strength pointing mortar placed beside more vulnerable historic masonry can shift deterioration toward the brick edges and faces rather than allowing the joint to weather normally.

Drying Behavior Matters

Mortar compatibility involves more than compressive strength. Moisture transmission and drying characteristics influence how the repaired wall manages water, particularly in masonry exposed to freezing conditions.

The Existing Wall Should Be Studied

Color is only the visible part of mortar matching. Preservation guidance considers strength, composition, appearance, and application when evaluating replacement mortar for historic masonry.

A hard gray joint can look solid while the surrounding brick slowly tells a different story. Good restoration asks which material should accommodate weathering, how the wall is expected to dry, and what the original masonry can tolerate. Mortar selection is therefore part of structural preservation, not merely a decision about matching the color between bricks.

Our Customers Share Their Experiences

What Our Clients Says About Our Services

I had a great experience with this chimney repair service. The masonry contractors were knowledgeable and efficient. My chimney looks good as new.

Im so impressed with the quality of their chimney repair service. They restored my chimney to like-new condition and provided helpful maintenance tips.

I was thrilled with the tuckpointing service provided by these masonry contractors. They fixed all the cracks in my walls and restored my home's charm.

My chimney needed both masonry repair and tuckpointing, and they handled it perfectly. Now it's sturdy and looks fantastic!