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Repointing UK: All houses in UK require a little maintenance every now and then. If you've come to realise that the mortar between the brickwork on your UK home is cracking or crumbling, you need expert assistance to prevent the problem from getting worse. It's essential to keep your brickwork in pristine condition to keep your house watertight, and the most effective solution is to hire the services of a brick repointing expert in UK.

It should be remembered that any building is only as sturdy as the mortar and bricks which hold it together. If the mortar is in a bad condition with holes, gaps or crumbling sections, then water or draughts can get into your dwelling and cause many issues with structure and its interior. But how can you be sure precisely when you need to repoint your house in UK?

It's just a case of checking your brickwork visually. If you discover damage or areas that look different to the remainder of the property, you may want to contact a local repointing specialist for a more thorough investigation. In sections such as on chimneys or under eaves it may be necessary to use a professional to check, but in most cases you should be able to see for yourself the physical warning signs of deterioration.

You've also got to think about the questions of safety that crumbling or deteriorating mortar can cause. The overall strength of your UK property relies on the condition of the mortar and bricks, and badly crumbling areas can negatively have an impact on this. In higher structures and homes with chimneys, any weakness in the integrity of the dwelling can have severe consequences in respect to property damage and the risk of injury.

It could be that eroding or missing mortar has been caused by damaged brickwork. An experienced UK repointing contractor will repair any defective brickwork before continuing with the mortar repointing to achieve a perfect finish to your home.

If the exterior brick walls of your UK property have been plasterered over or painted in the past you may see areas that are discoloured or prone to dampness. Any peeling, cracks or bubbling of paint or render could signify damage to either mortar or bricks beneath the surface. The only safe way to investigate a problem of this type is by employing a repointing and brickwork specialist who will find the root cause of the mortar damage. Any dependable repointing expert in UK will be capable of performing a service like this and keep your property safe and looking great.

WHAT ARE THE STEPS FOR REPOINTING BRICKWORK IN UK?

Repointing takes quite a bit of time to complete properly and will entail working up high in a lot of cases. A visual inspection is the first step in this process and will evaluate the scope of the remedial work required on your home. This will allow them to give you a quotation for repointing work. It is invariably best to get estimates from different repointing companies in UK and study the levels of service offered between them.

A further site survey might be necessary once you accept a quote and may involve the use of ladders, or even scaffolding, to access inaccessible sections of your house. A price quote after the follow-up survey might be higher thanks to problems identified by this more comprehensive inspection. The older the structure, the more chance that it's going to need remedial repointing work, and this is especially true for those homes in UK over sixty years old.

Once any problems have been identified then work can begin. Even bungalows and single storey buildings may require some form of scaffold to provide a secure platform for your repointing team. An arrangement of protective sheeting or shielding will then be attached to the exterior of the scaffold. This might be plastic sheeting to trap any dirt and debris that's created during the repair work.

All pipes, conduits and cables that are fixed to the wall may be loosened or removed so that the brickwork behind them can be easily accessed. On completion of the project all of these will be put back in their original locations.

Any pebble-dash, paint, rendering or other covering will now have to be removed safely to allow the repointers to gain access to the bare walls and begin their reparation work. When this has been removed the bricks can be meticulously sanded and cleaned to provide a uniform surface for work to begin.

To help you decide on the ideal style of pointing for your walls, a good UK repointing specialist will be glad to demonstrate the various pointing designs (Tuck, Recessed, Flush or Weather Struck), by creating a test section on your brickwork. This should allow you to visualise the finished result and guarantee your satisfaction with the finished product with regard to style and colour.

Now the dusty work will begin as the old, damaged mortar is removed by raking and cleaning out the brick joints. This is a time consuming process and involves the chipping or grinding away of old mortar and brushing out all the loose debris and dust to provide a good platform onto which to apply the new mortar. Any doors and windows will be given extra attention by the repointing team to prevent any distortions of the frames or having excess mortar applied which could lead to problems with their closing and opening.

Before fresh mortar is applied, the brickwork will be dampened to prevent it from drying out too quickly. The slower drying time stops the mortar from cracking and becoming inflexible, which can create a weaker joint. When it is sufficiently dry the time has come to clean any smears and excess mortar from the surrounding brickwork. A wire brush is used to clean the brickwork which have been finished before moving on to the next section of the wall requiring work.

If any brick replacement, lead flashing replacement or chimney repairs needs doing by the repointing company as part of the project, now is the time when these tasks will be undertaken.

After cleaning the brickwork for a final time, to obtain a uniform appearance, any plaster rendering or re-painting of the finished wall surface can take place. The pipes and cables will be reattached and the final stage of the project will be to dismantle the scaffolding and work platforms and remove all building waste and debris from the site.

The repointing of your house by a reputable UK company will mean you'll not have to deal with your exterior brickwork for another fifty years or so. Warranties should be offered for the reparation work and they should have an affiliation with providers and manufacturers from the construction industry giving cover for defective materials.

If a building contractor has accreditation or qualifications from associations like the NHBC (National House-Building Council), the NFBC (National Federation of Building Contractors) and the FMB (Federation of Master Builders), you can be confident you are working with an experienced and reliable business. Furthermore, every member of the repointing team who works on your home should be a member of the Construction Skills Certification Scheme to confirm they have the appropriate skills and training to be a part of the project.

Tuck Pointing UK

What Exactly is Tuck Pointing? Tuckpointing is a method of repointing old and battered brickwork where the mortar is unstable and crumbling. The aesthetic appearance of walls can be enhanced with this approach, giving the impression that they are in far better condition than they really are, and giving an illusion of well-formed brickwork.

A portion of the old, crumbling mortar is removed and replaced with a new coloured mortar that is as close as possible to the colour of the stone or brick from which the wall is constructed. A narrow contrasting strip of (usually lighter) mortar is then applied to make it look like the joints are tidy and neat, where in fact the joints may be irregular in width.

Without the requirement for any disruptive refurbishments, the effect of tuck-pointing can be quite striking, especially when seen from a distance, and can substantially improve the overall appearance of a wall. (Tags: Tuckpointing, Tuck Pointing Mortar, Tuck Pointing).

UK Repointing Tasks

There are a whole host of tasks that can be accomplished by your local UK repointing specialist including brickwork joint raking, mortar raking, chimney repointing, stone pointing, lime mortar repointing UK, mortar rake grinding UK, pointing paving, garden wall repointing, strap pointing UK, house repointing UK, slab repointing, cheap repointing UK, repointing services, cracked brickwork repairs, bucket handle pointing and re-pointing, residential repointing UK, the repointing of brick gable ends UK, the re-pointing of brick joints, ribbon pointing and repointing, and lots more.

Other Tradespeople in UK

When you're doing repointing on your house in UK, UK you might also need to locate a selection of other tradesmen and services such as a carpenter in UK, a window fitter in UK, brickwork cleaning in UK, patio cleaners in UK, a tiler in UK, a scaffolder in UK, SKIP HIRE in UK, jet washing in UK, a stonemason in UK, waste removal in UK, a bricklayer in UK, a handyman in UK, a plasterer in UK, a roofer in UK, a building contractor in UK, and more.

Brick Repointing UK - Repointing Patios UK - Brickwork Repairs UK - Repointing Estimates UK - Residential Repointing UK - UK - Repointing Brick UK - Repointing UK - Repointing Mortar Joints UK