Repointing — raking out tired mortar and packing the joints with new — is the repair that saves the stone. Done in time, it costs a fraction of a rebuild. Put off, water gets into the wall, freezes, and the repair becomes a reconstruction.
The published numbers.
HomeAdvisor puts repointing brick at $3 to $15 per square foot, about $8 on average, or roughly $1,450 for a 100-square-foot section, and chimney repointing at $700 to $2,200. Bob Vila’s guide lists tuckpointing at $5 to $25 per square foot, at least $10 per square foot on high surfaces, and chimneys at $500 to $2,500.
What moves the price.
- Height and access. Chimneys and tall walls need staging or lifts, and work at height is slower.
- How deep the joints are gone. Mortar is raked out to sound material — usually two to two-and-a-half times the joint width. Deeper decay means more work.
- The right mortar. New mortar must never be harder than the stone or brick around it. Older walls and chimneys often call for a softer, lime-rich mix that is matched to the original.
- Loose units. Stones or bricks that have moved are reset on a sound bed before the joints are pointed.
- The season. Mortar has to cure above freezing; repointing is spring and fall work.
Read when stone needs repointing, or send the office a photo of the joints.
We never quote from a chart. Edgar walks every site, measures, looks at what’s underneath and then writes a price — for the scope on the page, with the base and the drainage spelled out. Request a site walk.
