Repointing Tooting

Repointing Tooting Greater London (SW17): Some fine day every building in Tooting will need a little maintenance, whether it's a residential home or a commercial property. Homes in Tooting are hit by all sorts of weather, pollution and other harmful factors which can affect the state of the mortar or cement between the brickwork, and if you see evidence of this you might want to call on some expert help. If you need to renovate or repair your crumbling brickwork, an established brick repointing specialist in Tooting can provide a high quality solution.

A building is only as sound as the bricks and mortar that keep it together, and you should never forget this. To be able to stop any draughts and dampness from forcing their way into your property, the mortar must be sound, and not have any holes or gaps. But how can you tell whether or not your property needs to be professionally repointed?

Examine your outside brick walls and look for any obvious damage that is visible to the naked eye. If you discover damage or areas which look a bit different to the rest of the building, you may want to contact a professional repointing company for a more thorough investigation. In the majority of buildings you'll be able to spot any clear signs of impairment quite easily, although in some instances it may be a good idea to bring in a professional to examine hard to reach places such as under eaves or on chimneys.

Deteriorating mortar doesn't just look terrible, it can raise safety issues as well. Mortar is the binding agent that holds the shape and structure together in any Tooting property, and when it is in a poor state of repair it can affect the overall integrity of a structure. Any weakness in the structural integrity can render a building unstable with severe consequences and maybe even a risk to the life of inhabitants.

If you're renovating an older building or your mortar has been neglected over the years, you might also need to repair brickwork that's been weakened or damaged. So as to renovate the brickwork at the same time as the repointing, a professional brick repointing contractor in Tooting will quickly determine any sections that require repair or replacement.

It might be the case that in past times your Tooting home's external brick walls have been painted or rendered over. If you start to see flaking, bubbling or cracks of the paint or render it could all point to more extensive damage under the surface coating. Bringing in a certified repointing and brickwork contractor, is really the only way to figure out a problem of this type, and find the real cause. By using this type of service you can keep your home safe, solid and looking awesome.

WHAT STEPS ARE REQUIRED IN REPOINTING BRICKWORK IN TOOTING?

Repointing can be a time consuming process and can involve working at considerable height, subject to the design of your property. An eyes-on inspection is the very first step in the process and will ascertain the magnitude of the remedial work that is needed on your property. They will be able to present you with an accurate quote for the complete project, as soon as they have looked at all this information. The same standard of service might not be offered by all repointing specialists in Tooting, so make an effort to get at least three or four quotes, and closely consider each one.

Ladders, or even some form of scaffold may be necessary to get access to hard to reach parts of your house, and a second site survey might be needed to check this, after you've accepted a particular quotation. A price quote after the second survey might be higher thanks to issues discovered in this more comprehensive inspection. The older your structure, the more likely it is to need repointing, and this is particularly true for those houses in Tooting that are in excess of 60 years old.

Once all the trouble spots have been uncovered and gone over with the house owner, pointing work can commence. Most properties will need a scaffold to establish a sturdy working platform for the repointing team. The outside of the scaffolding can then have a protective shielding attached to it. This could be in the way of polythene sheeting to trap any dust and debris that is created during the repair work.

Any piping will have to be removed or adjusted to enable easy access to the wall surfaces behind, as will all external cabling, for instance satellite or TV. This is only a temporary measure and they'll be returned to their proper position as soon as all reparation work has been completed.

Any rendering, paint, pebble-dash or other coverings will now be carefully removed to enable the repointing team to gain access to the brickwork and start their restorative work. After the removal of these coverings all the brickwork can be sanded and cleaned to give the repointing team a standardised surface to work on.

To help you pick out the ideal form of pointing for your walls, a good Tooting repointing company will be willing to demonstrate the different pointing styles (Tuck, Recessed, Weather Struck or Flush), by the creation of a test panel on your wall. This will allow you to get an idea of the finished result and make sure you are satisfied in respect of style and colour.

The next phase is to remove the mortar in stages by raking and cleaning out the joints. This is a laborious process where any debris, dust and old mortar has to be painstakingly cleaned away to provide a decent bonding surface for the new mortar. Any doors and windows will be paid extra care by the repointing team to prevent any disturbance of the frames or having excess mortar applied which can lead to problems with their opening and closing.

When the joints have been cleaned, the brickwork should be dampened to prevent the new mortar from drying out too quickly and subsequently cracking. This helps create a strong joint by keeping the mortar flexible and avoiding cracks. Any smears and excess mortar that is left on the bricks can be cleaned off once the mortar has dried out thoroughly. The team will work on the brickwork in sections, cleaning each one as they go along before starting on a new patch.

If any chimney repairs, brick replacement or lead flashing replacement needs doing by the repointing company as part of the project, now's the time when these repairs will be carried out.

After cleaning the brickwork for one final time, to achieve a uniform visual appearance, any painting or rendering of the completed wall surfaces can take place. After the cables and pipes have been put back into position the scaffolding will be dismantled and all of the waste and debris is taken away from the site.

Your brick repair and repointing can last between fifty to sixty years so long as it's applied by a skilled and experienced repointing specialist in Tooting. Guarantees that are provided for the repointing should have an affiliation with providers and manufacturers from the construction industry giving cover for substandard materials.

Suitable accreditations can take various forms, however the ones that stand out with regards to bricklaying and repointing are: the National House Building Council (NHBC), the National Federation of Building Contractors (NFBC) and the Federation of Master Builders (FMB), with qualifications and certifications from industry front-runners such as the Chartered Institute of Building. Each individual who carries out work on repairing and repointing your brickwork should also be part of the Construction Skills Certification Scheme and be willing to verify their ability and skills by showing an appropriate CSCS card.

Chimney Repointing

A chimney is frequently overlooked when it comes to property maintenance, but a chimney that's falling into disrepair can be a costly issue. During an initial evaluation of your chimney in Tooting, a bricklayer may recommend repointing or perhaps even a complete rebuild of your chimney, dependant upon the size of the damaged and affected area. Professional chimney repointing will restore the structural stability of your chimney by replacing the old, crumbling mortar with fresh, new material. This can forestall the requirement for a complete chimney rebuild and give you peace of mind for many more years to come. Chimney repointing also helps prevent damage to the inside of your chimney stack, by preventing moisture from seeping through the holes and cracks in the mortar. Most recently built chimneys will be lined with steel and if this liner comes into contact with moisture, it reduces its lifespan. Once repointing work has been accomplished, an exterior sealant is used which repels water and allows any internal moisture to be released. LEARN MORE HERE. (Tags: Pointing Chimneys Tooting, Chimney Pointing Tooting, Repointing Chimneys Tooting, Chimney Repointing Tooting).

Ridge Tile Repointing Tooting

Roof tiles and mortar joints should be checked every other year at a minimum. Repointing simple mortar cracks can prevent leaking roofs and expensive re-roofing work in Tooting. Be extra vigilant with ridge tiles as 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 small and the tile seems firmly bedded, repointing the mortar is a satisfactory 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's a better idea to rebed the entire tile instead of repointing. If you repoint a tile which is no longer snugly bedded, the repair will not last very long and the crack will quickly reappear.

Safety is the most important thing to remember when repointing in Tooting. When working on the roof, make sure you tie off ladders to a sturdy structure. As well as thinking about your own safety on the roof, it is also advisable to establish a roped-off area on the ground, wherever 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've decided need repointing. Dampen the joint, apply mortar, and use a pointing trowel to smooth the joints between the ridge tiles.

Unfortunately, sometimes a ridge tile needs to be rebedded instead of repointed which requires a touch more work. Again, ensure that you take all safety precautions while working at height. Use a chisel and hammer 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 a good idea, especially if there's any evidence of rust. Remove any organic matter such as mould or moss and apply a fungicide to make certain the area is protected in the future. Then soak the area in water whilst mixing mortar. Mix a stiff mortar in a ratio of 3:1 (sharp sand: cement). Dampen the roof and tile as you work. Put mortar onto both sides of the ridge tile and use a trowel to lay a bed of mortar on the roof. Position the tile on the mortar bed and press down. Remove any mortar that spills out between joints. Ensure the joint gaps are filled, and smooth joints with pointing trowel.

Colour Matching Mortar

In Tooting, mortar colour matching is a vital component of brick restoration or repointing efforts. The objective is to integrate the new mortar with what already exists to retain a consistent appearance and stay true to the structure's original look. A key part of this is the cautious selection of the appropriate type and colour of cement, sand, and any additives applied. The procedure requires a keen eye and a deep understanding of the materials involved and their behaviours with time. If the mortar is mismatched, it can tarnish the overall appearance of the building, hence the need for professional colour matching in successful repointing and restoration. (71483)

Repointing Specialists Near Tooting

Also find: Merton repointing, Balham repointing, Grosvenor Way repointing, Furzedown repointing, Merton Park repointing, Streatham Vale repointing, Streatham Hill repointing, Morden repointing, Tooting Bec repointing and more.

Tooting Repointing Tasks

Just Some of the Tasks That a Repointing Specialist Can Do

There are a wide array of tasks that can be accomplished by your local Tooting repointing specialist including tuck pointing Tooting, pointing and re-pointing paving, the repointing of stone walls, ridges repointed or rebedded, mortar raking Tooting, stone wall repointing Tooting, mortar rake grinding, brick repointing, brick sealing, the repointing of chimneys, cheap repointing, roof verge repointing Tooting, damaged brickwork replacement, lime mortar repairs, fireplace repointing Tooting, the lime pointing of brick joints in Tooting, brick joint repointing, brickwork crack stitching, domestic repointing Tooting, repointing stone walls with lime mortar in Tooting, bed joint reinforcement Tooting, dry verge installations, brick joint raking and repointing, stone strengthening in Tooting, industrial repointing, masonry repairs, crack injection, repointing work on mortar joints in Tooting, weather struck re-pointing, valley repointing, brickwork inspection, crack repairs to brickwork, brickwork pointing and repointing, patio repointing Tooting, pointing and repointing mortar joints, and repointing scaffolds. These are just a selection of the tasks that are performed by those specialising in repointing. Tooting companies will let you know their whole range of services.

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