Repointing Cambridge

Repointing Cambridge Cambridgeshire (CB1): Every Cambridge home will need a bit of maintenance and repair every now and then, regardless of how old it actually is. If the bricks on your Cambridge property look decidedly grotty with crumbling or missing mortar, you'll want to act quickly to prevent the situation from worsening. To find a cost effective solution to repair your brickwork and ensure that it stays watertight, you will have to bring in a professional brick repointing company in Cambridge.

It must always be remembered that any house is only as sturdy as the bricks and mortar that hold it together. To stop any dampness or draughts from forcing their way in through gaps or holes, and thus to keep your property dry and warm, the mortar needs to be in a sufficiently good state. But how are you to know when your house needs a specialist to repoint it?

In essence, you have to examine your exterior walls and check for any visible damage. If problem areas can be quickly spotted by such a casual inspection, then the likelihood is that you are going to need some repointing. In areas such as under eaves or on chimney stacks it might be necessary for a professional to check, however in most cases you should be able to see for yourself the physical warning signs of degradation.

Deteriorating mortar doesn't merely look bad, it can lead to questions of safety too. The mortar is the basis of strength for your Cambridge home and is the "glue" that holds the whole thing together. When contemplating damage to property and risk of injury, any weeknesses in the stability of the building can have severe implications, and this is even more of a worry in properties with tall buildings or chimneys.

It is often a situation where cracked or damaged brickwork is the primary cause of any missing or eroding mortar that you uncover on your home. A reliable Cambridge brick repointing contractor will replace any damaged brickwork before attempting the mortar repointing to achieve the perfect finish to your home.

A lot of Cambridge properties in past times had their exterior brick walls painted or rendered with plaster to help protect the brickwork. If you discover flaking, cracks or bubbling of the plaster or paint it could point to more extensive damage underneath. The only effective way to ensure the deterioration does not spread more widely and lead to structural problems in the future, is to get a brick repointing company to do a survey. You can then have the satisfaction knowing that your external walls are in the best possible condition, and that the renovation work has been carried out by an expert.

WHAT ARE THE STEPS IN REPOINTING BRICKWORK IN CAMBRIDGE?

It takes time to repoint a whole house and, depending on the layout of your home, can also entail working up high. The very first thing a repointing specialist will perform is a visual survey to evaluate the severity of the damage to your house. After that, they'll be able to supply you with a detailed quotation for the repair and renovation work. Remember to always get two or three quotes and don't automatically assume the cheapest is the best option.

A further site survey might be needed once you accept a quote and might involve the use of extending ladders, or even a scaffold, to gain access to hard to reach areas of your house. A quote after the follow-up survey might be higher due to issues identified in this more detailed inspection. The older a structure is, the more likely it is that it will need restoration work, and for homes that are over sixty years old, this is especially true.

Work can begin once any problem areas have been detected and discussed with the owner of the property. So as to have a robust platform while renovating your property, the likelihood is that a repointing contractor will need to have a scaffold set up. A protective shielding will be secured in place, once the scaffolding is up. The purpose of this is to lessen the danger of harming people in the immediate area, and avoid damage to property from falling debris.

All conduits, pipes and cables that are fixed to the wall will be removed or loosened to allow access to the brickwork behind them. These will all be re-attached once the project has been finished.

If the brickwork on your home in Cambridge is pebble-dashed, rendered or painted, these sorts of coverings must be removed so that the bare brick surfaces can be accessed. A thorough cleaning and sanding of the brickwork surfaces behind these coverings will be essential, to guarantee that your finished walls are neat and uniform upon completion.

A professional Cambridge repointing company will be happy to prepare a test panel on your property to help you to picture the various different mortar finishes that are available, (Flush, Recessed, Tuck or Weather Struck pointing). This pointing test panel will enable you to see how each of the techniques compares with one another and also which matches the style of your property best.

Now the messy work begins as the old mortar is taken out by raking and cleaning out the joints. This is a very time consuming process and involves the chipping or grinding away of old mortar and brushing away all the dust and loose debris to provide a clean surface onto which to apply the new mortar. The repointers will be especially cautious around windows, doors and other openings where movement in the brickwork or a surplus of mortar can result in difficulty in opening and closing them.

When the joints are clean, the brickwork will be dampened to prevent the fresh mortar from drying out too rapidly and subsequently cracking. This keeps the mortar flexible and enables it to dry out at a gentler pace to prevent cracking, which can lead to a weaker joint. When it has dried sufficiently the time has come to clean any smears and excess mortar from the adjacent bricks. The walls are divided into areas, and each one in turn will be repointed, allowed to dry, and then cleaned off before the repointers move along to the next section.

It's possible that as the repointing team are working they may find cracked brickwork that needs replacing, or perhaps a problem with a chimney or faulty lead flashing, and an experienced repointer will be in a position to carry out these repairs as they progress.

As soon as the entire house has been repointed and cleaned, and if you wish to re-apply the walls with rendering or re-paint the bricks, now is the time to do this. After the cables and pipes have been put back in position, scaffolding will be dismantled and all waste and debris disposed of.

Your brick repointing can last between 50-60 years so long as it's accomplished by a qualified and experienced repointing specialist in Cambridge. Warranties that are provided for the repointing should have an affiliation with providers and manufacturers from the building industry covering defective materials.

Accreditation could take many forms, but the ones that are prominent in the repointing industry are: the National House Building Council (NHBC), the Federation of Master Builders (FMB) and the National Federation of Building Contractors (NFBC), with certifications and qualifications from construction industry leaders like the Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB). Every person who does work on repointing and repairing your property is also required to be a member of the Construction Skills Certification Scheme and be able to verify their ability and skills by showing their CSCS card.

Tuckpointing Cambridge

Exactly What is Tuckpointing? With old and dilapidated brickwork where the mortar joints are crumbling and unstable, tuck pointing is a handy restoration procedure. To give the impression that they are perfectly maintained, it is an approach which is used to cosmetically improve the look of walls.

The old, crumbling mortar is removed and replaced with a mixture that is colour-matched to the stone or brick in the wall. Next, a thin, contrasting line of mortar is "tucked" in, to make it seem like the joints are neat and even, where they previously looked like they were wide and irregular in width.

Avoiding the need for any disruptive renovations, tuck-pointing can dramatically enhance the overall appearance of a wall, and can be quite impressive, particularly when observed from a distance. tuckpointing services are also available in Fen Ditton, Chesterton, Trumpington, Milton, Grantchester, Girton, Grantchester Meadows, Horningsea, Cherry Hinton, Teversham, and and of course in Cambridge itself. (Tags: Tuck Pointing Mortar Cambridge, Tuckpointing Cambridge, Tuck Pointing Cambridge).

Ridge Tile Repointing Cambridge

Ridge tiles and mortar joints should be checked every other year at a minimum. Repointing cracks in mortar joints can prevent leaking roofs and costly re-roofing work in Cambridge. Be extra vigilant with ridge tiles since they're exposed to the extremes of the weather from all sides and may develop cracks in the mortar joints before other tiles on the roof. If cracks are discovered in the mortar between ridge tiles, the options are repoint the joints or rebed the ridge tile.

If the cracks are minor and the tile appears to be firmly bedded, repointing is a suitable option. If the cracks in the mortar are as wide as the mortar joint and there seems to be some movement in the ridge tile, it would be better to rebed the complete tile rather than repointing. If you repoint a tile that is no longer tightly bedded, the repair won't last very long and the crack will quickly reappear.

Safety is the most important thing to remember when repointing in Cambridge. When working on the roof, make sure you tie off ladders to a sturdy structure. In addition to considering your own safety on the roof, it's also advisable to establish a roped-off area on the ground, where falling objects may land. Repointing ridge tiles is the same process as repointing brick or block work. Once you're secured, use a metal spike to rake out mortar in joints that you have decided need repointing. Dampen the joint, apply mortar, and use a pointing trowel to smooth the joints between the ridge tiles.

Unfortunately, from time to time a ridge tile has to be rebedded instead of repointed which requires a touch more work. Again, be sure to use all safety precautions while working at height. Use a hammer and chisel to remove the mortar as well as the ridge tile. Use the chisel and hammer to remove the mortar from the bed on the roof, and mortar from the underside of the ridge tile. Once the ridge tile is off, replacing the ridge iron is advisable, particularly if there is any sign of rust. Remove any organic matter such as algae and moss and spray on a fungicide to make sure the area is clean. Then soak the area in water while mixing mortar. Mix a stiff mortar in a ratio of 3:1 (sharp sand: cement). Dampen the tile and roof as you proceed. Put mortar onto each side of the tile and use a trowel to lay a bed of mortar on the roof. Place on the mortar bed and firmly press down. Remove any mortar that oozes out between joints. Make certain the joint gaps are filled, and smooth joints with pointing trowel.

Obtaining Repointing Quotes Cambridge

When planning any house repointing that calls for bringing in specialist tradespeople in Cambridge, it's always recommended that you get as many quotations as is feasible. This gives you a concept of the costs you might face and a range of prospective tradespeople. Now you may think that this is not really essential and that you already know of a builder who you can trust, but you should still undergo the quote collecting process because it provides you with more choice - and surely that can only be a good thing.

One chore that you have to do before contacting people for quotations is to put together a complete list of everything that you need doing. This will help to prevent the one thing that just about all tradespeople constantly whine about, which is being expected to do extra stuff that they weren't aware of, and have not allowed for in your quote. You won't be expected to know every minor detail, and any professional Cambridge tradesman will quickly make a note of anything that you've forgotten or overlooked and ensure that such slip-ups are allowed for in the repointing quote.

You can make your mind up about who to hire once you have received all your quotes and scrutinised all of the potential tradesmen. With regards to the difference in the quotes, if one of them is considerably cheaper than the rest you should be a little suspicious, you should get a sense of which one is right for you, take your time and don't rush this.

Cambridge Skip Hire

When planning for any garden makeovers or home improvements in Cambridge, you will have to make provision for any waste that's produced. Whether or not a lot of waste is generated by your repointing work will depend on the particular circumstances of your project, sometimes there will be lots of waste, sometimes not so much. In many cases the tradesman you're hiring will gladly take away the waste that is produced during the course of the project, but be warned - quite a few of them certainly don't!

Hiring a skip is one of the easiest and most hassle-free ways to dispose of this waste. Different skip sizes are available to accommodate the volume of rubbish that you have. Skips are normally available the following sizes: skip bags (1-1.5 yds), mini-skips (2-3 yds), midi-skips (4-5 yds), builders skips (6-8 yds), roll-on roll-off skips (20-25 yds).

For Cambridge skip hire quotes GO HERE.

Ask Friends and Family

There are various ways to find reliable tradespeople, and a good place to start is with family, friends and neighbours. If anyone you know has had repointing work done recently, you could ask if they were professional and did a good job. When all is said and done, a word of mouth testimonial is more likely to be accepted, and this should come as no surprise, as we all like to talk about products and services to our family and friends. You will need to get at least three or four estimates from your list of prospective companies in Cambridge.

Searching For a Repointing Specialist On the Internet

In these days of modern technology, the first thoughts for most of us when looking for tradesmen or services in Cambridge is to grab a smartphone and conduct a search online. Since you're scanning this page as we speak, you most likely found your way to it by typing a search phrase into Google, Ask, Yahoo or Bing. Often the first page listings provided are not actually what you had expected when using these particular search engines.

Most home owners, when trying to find repointing specialists in Cambridge will type "repointing Cambridge", "repointing near me", "Cambridge repointing" or "repointing in Cambridge" into the search box and go through the listings. You need to know that the 4 top results are normally "paid for" advertisements (which may or may not be relevant), and lots of the remaining page one results will likely be from major lead generating websites like Rated People, Quotatis, TrustaTrader, My Hammer, Local Heroes or Checkatrade or directories such as Yelp, Yell, Hotfrog or 3 Best Rated.

You will most likely discover the websites of real life repointing specialists buried on page two or three of the listings, outsmarted by the big money businesses who can afford search engine optimization.

Cambridge Repointing Tasks

Just Some of the Tasks That a Repointing Specialist Can Do

There are a number of different tasks that can be carried out by your local Cambridge repointing specialist including lintel replacement Cambridge, chimney repairs, brick repointing, brickwork repointing, mortar rake grinding Cambridge, stone strengthening, stone wall repointing Cambridge, lime mortar repointing Cambridge, the repointing of chimneys, ridge tile repointing Cambridge, pebble-dash removal, cheap re-pointing Cambridge, restorations to damaged brickwork, brickwork joint raking and repair, domestic repointing, pointing mortar joints, paint removal from brick, rubble masonry, bucket handle re-pointing, weather struck re-pointing, repairs to damaged brickwork Cambridge, dry verge installation, brickwork joint raking, roof verge repointing Cambridge, lead valleys repaired or renewed, tuck pointing Cambridge, house pointing and re-pointing Cambridge, mortar raking, the replacement of damaged brickwork Cambridge, the lime pointing of stonework and brickwork, lime mortar repairs, masonry repairs Cambridge, chimney stack repointing Cambridge, brick joint renovation, stone cleaning Cambridge, and scaffolding hire. These are just a small portion of the duties that are carried out by local experts in repointing. Cambridge companies will inform you of their entire range of services.

Repointing Specialists Near Cambridge

Also find: Chesterton repointing, Teversham repointing, Trumpington repointing, Girton repointing, Grantchester repointing, Fen Ditton repointing, Cherry Hinton repointing, Grantchester Meadows repointing, Milton repointing, Horningsea repointing and more.

Repointing Specialist Services Cambridge

Find a Repointing Specialist in Cambridge Here

• Cambridge Residential Repointing
• Cambridge Mortar Repointing
• Cambridge Repointing
• Cambridge Gable End Repointing
• Cambridge Patio Repointing
• Cambridge Repointing Services
• Cambridge Brickwork Repointing
• Cambridge Brick Joint Raking
• Cambridge Commercial Repointing
• Cambridge Chimney Repointing
• Cambridge Roof Repointing
• Cambridge Brick Step Repointing
• Cambridge Cheap Repointing
• Cambridge Ribbon Pointing

Other Tradespeople in Cambridge: When your Cambridge property needs refurbishing or improvements, a number of different tradespeople might be needed to complete the project, and although your current search is for repointing in Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, you could also need the expertise of SKIP HIRE in Cambridge, a bathroom specialist in Cambridge, a roofer in Cambridge, a carpenter and joiner in Cambridge, brickwork cleaning in Cambridge, pressure washing in Cambridge, a conversion specialist in Cambridge, a stonemason in Cambridge, a building contractor in Cambridge, a flooring specialist in Cambridge, groundwork in Cambridge, a renderer in Cambridge, fireplace installation in Cambridge, a plasterer in Cambridge, scaffold hire in Cambridge, a bricklayer in Cambridge, waste removal in Cambridge, and probably others.

Repointing Cambridgeshire: More Cambridgeshire repointing specialists: Ramsey, Ely, Cambridge, St Ives, Littleport, Huntingdon, Wisbech, Cambourne, Soham, Yaxley, Peterborough, Brampton, Histon, Whittlesey, St Neots and London.

Repointing Jobs Cambridge: View repointing jobs near Cambridge by going here: Cambridge Repointing Jobs

If you need local Cambridge information check here

Repointing in CB1 area, phone code 01223.

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