Repointing - was it worth it for you?

[LeftoversAgain]

Hi - just looking for thoughts on this - im thinking to have this done to my home but im not sure whether im being too lavish as its not a must do item but i feel like its the final part of making my home look nice as previous owners have just patched bits up and i think the front of my home looks a bit mismatched. Have you done it and regretted it?

Quote is $7K for 3 weeks work but contractors have offered to do other smaller jobs in the home if weather makes outside working difficult at any point so repainting a room, setting up wall units etc

i just need a 2nd opinion because i dont know anyone!

How old is the house?

i think it might be from the 1940s @Geneticsbunny and its not terrible but ive always really wanted a lovely home and ive done work inside but not to the outside

Repointing always looks rubbish when I’ve seen it. Cement smeared over bricks. Pointing should be a recessive feature, not a main feature. It takes very skilled contractors to do it to make it look nice imho.

are they going to grind out the original by mechanical means? If so, it probably doesn’t need redoing.

I wouldn't bother. You could get it jet washed and then have any loose bits redone. I wouldn't do the whole lot though.

@SquishyGloopyBum its a bit patchworky if i have to explain it so nothing obviously wrong with the brickwork, just that its been messily done in parts so the different parts of the house arent tied in with each other.

Mine was done/ needed doing a couple of years ago. The gable end was practically eaten away by bees burrowing into the mortar, and like yours we had patches here and there.
The builder took his time, cleared out all the loose stuff, and was so careful at how he applied the new mortar. Very neat .

Now looks great, seems warmer.... And safer.
Cost five grand and took several weeks. Well worth it.

@OdddSox much appreciated - my builder has suggested doing insulation, rendering and painting front but i just like the brickwork look.

Personally, repointing (unless in real need of redoing) isn’t one of those things that make a house look any better. As long as the original stuff is in ok condition Id just leave it, but that’s just me.

If you have bits missing then I would look at it. Mine is 1950 and there is a lot of shallow pointing on one side and I have issues with damp

Our house totally needed it and we got it done long after we should've done. Husband swears it makes the house feel warmer (it bloody should do!) and I feel more secure that the external walls aren't going to fall down!

Cost £5.5k and took a couple of weeks (but that was just for the side and back of the house - front is rendered and no work done there). It's been left looking much better than before - no cement smears on my brickwork!

I've just had to have some repointing done on most of the ground floor and it looks a mess, tbf I think i've used a bit of a cowboy really so very disappointed as he talked a good talk and photos of other work looked good but functionally it's doing it's job so can't really complain on that front.
So will be removing the mortar from the bricks with acid once the summer is here as I think it's going to take a while

@LeftoversAgain for that sort of money I'd definitely want to see their previous work.

It's not an easy job, it is time-consuming and preparation is everything. You only have to look at the masonry subreddit to see just how awful an unskilled practitioner could make your house look

My concern is they've offered to do other jobs around the house which suggests they are neither professional bricklayers nor repointing specialists.

I'd be wary tbh.

@Alicorn1707 that's a good point about not being specialists though they have done a lot of work in several big properties plus mine inside so they are very good tradespeople generally. Im 100% happy with everything I've seen.

They had initially suggested rendering /repainting but I didnt like that look but I guess that's much easier to do than what I want.

Bought our 30s semi a year ago and had it totally repointed. There were several mismatched areas which needed redoing and so we bit the bullet.
Had a fantastic old school bloke who had done great work for a neighbour...£2700 ( half the house...top is rendered)

Ours needed repointing (1880s house) and it looks much better now. I think you can usually tell if it needs it. If you’re not sure, I wouldn’t bother!

It will get to a point where it is needed. My parents house is 150 years old and the mortar was crumbling. The company who did it were amazing you would never be able to tell it wasn't the original. Their neighbours also had it done. Utter mess. Key is finding the right contractor

Bricks are lovely
Dont get it rendered, modern cement render isn’t good for buildings, unless they were suggesting lime of course. It’s still not as beautiful as bricks though.

You can ask for them to match up the mortar to the original in colour. It will give it a mellow look if the colour isn’t as bright