Sandy Mortar Joints Are How an Arlington Chimney Starts to Fail
Run a finger along the mortar between the bricks of a 1960s chimney in Central Arlington or Dalworthington Gardens and it often comes away sandy. Look closer and the joints are recessed, cracked or missing in spots, with white staining where water has been running through. The bricks are still fine. The mortar that holds them and keeps the rain out is worn out, and water damage follows close behind. That is the job chimney tuckpointing in Arlington, TX is for.
Crownline Chimney Sweep tuckpoints and repairs chimney masonry across Arlington. We grind out the failed mortar, pack in new mortar matched to the original, replace any spalled bricks, and check the crown and cap while we are up there. The estimate is free and the price is in writing before we start.
Catch it at this stage and it is a repair. Wait a few more wet seasons and the bricks start to move, which is when a chimney rebuild becomes the only option.
What Tuckpointing Is, and What It Is Not
Mortar joints are the weak link in a brick chimney on purpose. The mortar is softer than the brick so that movement cracks the joint, which is cheap to fix, instead of the brick, which is not. Over 40 to 70 years, water, heat and soil movement use that joint up.
Tuckpointing, also called repointing, replaces it. The failed mortar is ground out to a sound depth, about three quarters of an inch, the joint is cleaned and dampened, and new mortar is packed in and tooled to match the old profile. The chimney gets its strength and its weather seal back without taking a brick down.
What it is not: smearing a skim of mortar over the face of the old joints. That is a cosmetic patch that falls out in a year or two, and it is what a lot of handyman “chimney repair” turns out to be. If a quote does not include grinding the joints out, it is not tuckpointing.
Signs Your Chimney Mortar Needs Repair
- Joints that are recessed, cracked, sandy or missing, especially on the weather side and near the top.
- White staining on the brick, which is water passing through the joints.
- Loose mortar on the roof, in the gutter or on the ground below the chimney.
- Brick faces flaking or popping off, which starts after the joints have let water into the brick.
- A damp firebox, rusty damper or water stains near the fireplace after rain.
- Daylight through a joint when you look up the outside of the chimney from the roof.
Any of these on a brick chimney built before 1990 is reason for a homeowner to book an inspection, and the sooner the better, because open joints allow water to seep deeper with every storm, and spalling follows. Brick veneer homes with a brick chimney show the same pattern. Chimney fires are the other risk: once water has cracked the flue tiles behind the joints, heat has a path out of the flue. Crownline photographs the joints from the roof on every chimney inspection and tells you whether they can wait another year.
Tuckpointing vs Rebuilding: How We Decide
This is the question Arlington homeowners ask most, and the honest answer depends on the brick, not the mortar.
Tuckpointing is right when the bricks are sound and straight and the mortar is the problem. It costs a fraction of a rebuild and lasts decades.
Partial rebuild is right when a section of brick above the roof is loose, cracked through, spalled or leaning. We take the chimney down to sound brick and rebuild it. Our rough rule: if more than about a third of the bricks above the roof are bad, a partial rebuild costs about the same as heavy tuckpointing plus brick replacement, and it lasts longer.
Full rebuild is rare and reserved for a chimney that is leaning, has a cracked footing or has lost most of its brick.
We put a level on the chimney, tap the bricks, photograph the joints, and show you which case you have. We do not sell a rebuild to a chimney that needs pointing.
What Our Chimney Masonry and Tuckpointing Service Includes
- Roof-level inspection with photos. Mortar joints, brick, crown, cap and flashing on all four sides. You see the photos before anything is recommended.
- Written price. A free itemized estimate for the tuckpointing, brick replacement, crown work and waterproofing as separate lines.
- Grind out. Failed mortar removed to a sound depth with a grinder and chisel, dust controlled, joints blown clean.
- Mortar matched. Color and composition matched to the original, including sand texture and strength, so the repair blends and the brick stays sound.
- Repoint. New mortar packed in layers and tooled to the original joint profile.
- Brick replacement. Spalled or cracked bricks cut out and replaced with matching brick.
- Crown and cap. Cracked crown sealed or rebuilt, cap reset or replaced. See chimney crown repair.
- Cure and seal. After a few days of curing, a breathable water repellent on the brick if you chose it. See chimney waterproofing.
- Clean-up and photos. Roof and gutters cleared, after photos sent to you.
A single-flue chimney with joints failing on two sides is usually a one-day job. Heavy repointing on all four sides with brick replacement can take two. We tarp the roof below the work area, keep the grinder dust off your siding and windows, and the new joints are tooled by hand so the texture matches the old ones. The fresh mortar looks a shade lighter for a few months and weathers in.
What Chimney Tuckpointing Costs in Arlington
No Arlington chimney company we found publishes a tuckpointing price. National cost guides give the typical range: HomeAdvisor lists chimney tuckpointing at about $10 to $25 per square foot, and Bob Vila lists $500 to $2,500 for a typical chimney. DFW falls in that range.
What moves the price on your chimney:
| Factor | Lower cost | Higher cost |
|---|---|---|
| Joints to repoint | Top few courses, one or two sides | All joints above the roof, four sides |
| Brick | All sound | Spalled bricks to replace |
| Chimney | One story, single flue | Two stories, wide, multiple flues |
| Roof access | Walkable pitch | Steep pitch, scaffold needed |
| Add-ons | None | Crown rebuild, waterproofing |
Crownline quotes in writing after the inspection, never over the phone. Estimates are free, seniors, veterans and first responders get 10% off, and we match a written quote from an insured company for the same work. One discount per job.
Arlington’s Brick Chimneys Are at the Age Where This Happens
Arlington grew fast from the 1950s through the 1980s, and those decades built most of the brick chimneys in the city: the mid-century homes around UTA, downtown and Fielder Park, the 1960s to 1980s ranch homes in Dalworthington Gardens and Pantego, and the older neighborhoods in East Arlington near AT&T Stadium and Globe Life Field. Original mortar from those years is now 40 to 70 years old.
North Texas finishes the job. Clay soil swells with spring rain and shrinks in a dry August, moving the chimney and cracking the joints. Tarrant County hail chips the mortar. Summer heat bakes it. The U.S. Fire Administration recommends a yearly chimney inspection before heating season, and in Arlington the state of the mortar joints is one of the first things we photograph on that visit.
Why Arlington Homeowners Call Crownline for Masonry Repair in Arlington
Crownline Chimney Sweep is a local, professional chimney company at 700 Highlander Blvd near the Parks Mall and I-20. Our crew has worked on Arlington brick chimneys for more than 20 years and has repointed a lot of the chimneys built in the decades above. We are insured and bonded.
On a masonry job with us you get photos of the joints from the roof, a free estimate and a written price, joints ground out instead of smeared over, mortar matched to the original, and the crown, cap and flashing checked in the same visit. That is the proof behind calling ourselves the best chimney company in Arlington, and why we are becoming the local chimney company Arlington homeowners trust.
Where We Do Masonry Repair Near Arlington
Crownline serves homeowners throughout Arlington TX: ZIP codes 76001, 76006, 76010, 76012, 76013, 76016, 76017 and 76018, from the brick homes of Central and East Arlington near AT&T Stadium to South Arlington, Lake Arlington, North Arlington, Viridian, Pantego and Dalworthington Gardens, and the Fort Worth side of DFW. Our masonry services in Arlington include tuckpointing, mortar repair, brick repair and brick replacement, crown repair, and full chimney rebuilds when the brick and mortar are past saving.
Mortar work rarely travels alone. Water infiltration through deteriorated mortar is usually also coming through the crown, the flashing or a missing cap, so chimney cap installation and chimney flashing repair are often on the same estimate. Inside the house, the same water rusts the damper, so damper repair comes up too. And a yearly chimney cleaning service is the chimney maintenance that catches cracks in the mortar before they turn into structural damage. Fireplace and chimney damage that is caught early costs less; chimney repair costs climb fast once bricks start to move.
Tuckpointing is one of the chimney repair services Crownline provides in Arlington, TX. If you are not sure whether your chimney needs mortar work or something bigger, start with a chimney inspection and we will tell you with photos. Call (817) 505-4222 or request a free estimate below.
Below are the frequently asked questions Arlington TX homeowners send us about tuckpointing and chimney repair needs. If yours is not here, call (817) 505-4222 to schedule an appointment and ask.