Brick repair in Hilo HI - mortar joints that hold up and keep water out
Mortar crumbling out of your brick wall? We find where the water's getting in, fix that, then repoint the joints that failed.
- Service
- Brick repair
- Call
- (808) 229-1042
How can you tell your brick needs repair?
Mortar crumbling from joints
You run a finger along a joint and it turns to sand, or the mortar has sunk back behind the face of the brick. That usually means the joints are worn out or water has been running through them, and the longer they stay open, the more water gets into the wall and the weaker it gets.
Cracked or loose bricks
A brick that's cracked through or rocks when you push it usually sits next to joints that gave out first. If you wait, the cracking spreads to the bricks around it, and replacing bricks is more work than redoing joints.
Stains under a downspout
Dark streaks, white powder or washed-out joints below a gutter or downspout mean water is running down the brick. Until that water is stopped, any repair in that spot will wear out the same way.
What does brick repair in Hilo actually involve?
Brick repair in Hilo usually means repointing, which is cutting the worn mortar out of the joints and packing in new mortar so the wall stops losing strength and stops letting water in. Mainstay Hilo Concrete and Masonry does this work in Hilo, Hawaiian Paradise Park and the cities around them, and on most houses the job comes down to how much of the wall has gone and why.
Most people call after they find sand on the ground under a wall or a joint they can push a key into. The price comes down to how many square feet need new mortar, how high the work goes, since a tall wall needs scaffolding, and whether a downspout or drain has to be fixed first. The schedule turns on the same things plus how many bricks need replacing, and your written estimate lays out the scope for your wall. We're licensed and insured, and the state contractors board treats any license that wasn't renewed by its expiration date as unlicensed, so a contractor whose license has lapsed can't legally do your job.
Details to note before an estimate
- Rough length and height of the wall
- Photos of the worst joints
- Cracked, loose or missing bricks
- Gutters and downspouts near the damage
How we handle brick repair
Before I look at a single joint, I look at the gutters and downspouts near the wall, because mortar that washes out has a water source somewhere. If a downspout is leaking or water is pooling at the base, that gets fixed first, so the new mortar isn't sitting in the same water. Then we mark the joints that have failed, and when the damage is caught early, we repair only those areas and leave the sound parts of the wall alone. Our crew cuts out the worn mortar, cleans the joints, packs in new mortar and tools it to match the joints around it. We replace any bricks that are cracked through and wash the wall down before we leave.
Sometimes the water starts farther out than the gutters. A driveway that tips toward the house can be replaced with driveway pavers set to slope away from the wall. A bank that keeps soil soaked against your brick may call for retaining wall construction instead of another round of patching.
Other work that keeps water off your brick
Driveway pavers
If rain sheets off your driveway toward the house, new pavers laid on a proper slope can carry that water away from your brick.
Retaining wall construction
When a slope keeps wet soil against your brick, a retaining wall with drainage behind it holds the ground back and lets the brick dry.
What happens after you call about brick repair in Hilo?
Call us or send the form
Call (808) 229-1042 or use the form below and tell us where the damage is. Photos of the joints help me see what I'm walking into.
I look over the wall
I come to your property, measure the damaged area and work out why it failed before I put a price on anything. That means checking the gutters, the downspouts and the ground along the base.
You get a written estimate
The estimate lays out which areas we'll repoint, which bricks we'll replace and any drainage fix that has to come first, with the price in writing. Nothing starts until you've read it and said yes.
Our crew does the repair
Our own crew does the work the way the estimate says, and I run it on site. When it's finished, I walk the wall with you before we call it done, and the job is backed by our satisfaction guarantee.
Questions before you book brick repair
How much does brick repointing cost in Hilo?
Repointing brick across the US usually costs about $3 to $25 per square foot, and that's a national range, not a Hilo price or ours. Walls over 8 feet that need scaffolding cost more per square foot than lower walls. Your price comes from measuring your wall at the estimate.
How often does brick need repointing?
Brick mortar usually needs repointing every 25 to 30 years. If your house or wall is close to that age, have the joints looked at soon, so you can plan for the work before the damage spreads.
Can I repair only the damaged part of a brick wall?
Often you can, because repointing only the damaged areas may keep you from having to repoint the whole house if the problem is caught early enough. The longer crumbling joints sit, the more of the wall ends up in the job, so it pays to call when you first see them.
What causes mortar to wash out of a brick wall?
Water usually does it, and a leaking downspout is a common source. The downspout and any other drainage problem have to be fixed before the joints are redone, or the new mortar takes the same water and fails the same way. That's why the drainage check comes first on our jobs.
What is the best way to repoint an old brick house?
Guidance written for historic masonry buildings says to skip masonry cement, because it makes a high-strength mortar that can damage the old masonry. The same guidance says taking out old mortar with hand chisels is slower but usually the safest for historic brick, and that power tools in unskilled hands can be disastrous for soft brick. If your house is older, ask any mason which mortar they plan to use and how the old mortar will come out.
Does repointing make a brick wall safer in an earthquake?
No, repointing renews worn joints, but it doesn't reinforce a wall. Unreinforced masonry is particularly vulnerable to quake damage, and earthquakes on the Island of Hawaii in 2006 heavily damaged a church's unreinforced mortared-stone facade. If that's on your mind, bring it up at the estimate and I'll tell you what I see in your wall.
Get a written scope for your brick repair
We reply within one business day to set a time for the visit. I come out, measure the wall, find where the water is getting in and give you a free written estimate in person. There's no pressure to book.
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Get your crumbling joints looked at
Have photos of the damaged joints, the wall height and any leaking downspouts ready when you call (808) 229-1042, and I'll know what to look for before I get there.