Chimney tuckpointing for Murray Hill homes
Mortar repair for Murray Hill chimneys by a local crew that protects your roof and cleans up every crumb.
- Fully licensed and insured
- Locally owned
- Family owned and operated
- Same-day service
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Masons who survey every face first
- Locally owned in Jacksonville
- Family owned and operated
- 100% satisfaction guaranteed
- Free inspection and estimate
- Same-day service available
- 10% off any service
Deep joints are filled in layers and tooled, not skimmed over.
- Free inspection and estimateEvery face of your Murray Hill chimney is scratch-tested and sketched at no charge.
- 100% satisfaction guaranteedIf the new joints are not sound, full and matched as agreed, we come back and fix them.
- Family owned and operatedA family masonry crew does the survey and the work, so the person who priced a face is the one who repoints it.
Bricks that rock in their beds
Press gently on a brick near the chimney top. If it moves, the mortar around it has failed all the way through. A course of loose bricks is past repointing and needs taking down and relaying.
That is a bigger job than tuckpointing, and we tell you if it applies before pricing the rest. Below the loose courses, the joints can often still be repointed in place. Loose brick at the top of your chimney in Murray Hill? Keep people clear below it and phone (904) 920-5495; our masons inspect for free.
Murray Hill falls within Duval County. Murray Hill is an inland community.
Raked, filled, tooled and cured
- Head joints cut by hand to protect brick edges
- Joints cleaned and dampened before filling
- Deep joints filled in layers, not one pass
- Joints tooled to match and shed water
How chimney tuckpointing runs
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Every face surveyed
Joints are scratch-tested at several heights and the failed courses marked on a sketch.
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Joints raked and cleaned
Old mortar comes out to sound depth, head joints by hand, then joints are cleaned and dampened.
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Filled in layers and tooled
Matched mortar goes in stage by stage, then is tooled to the original profile.
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Cured and cleaned up
Fresh joints are protected while they cure, the faces brushed and the roof cleared.
What wears chimney mortar in Murray Hill
Chimney joints in Murray Hill, well inland, see little salt. Water and age do the work: rain soaking the top courses and mortar weakening over many years.
Both show on a scratch survey, and both are repaired the same careful way.
10% off any service booked within 72 hours of inspection
Our masons take 10% off repointing booked in the three days after they survey the joints.
Why new mortar is softer than the brick
Preservation Brief 2 wants new pointing mortar weaker than the brick and more open to vapor. Mortar is meant to be the part that gives, taking up movement and letting moisture leave the wall through the joints.
Mortar stronger than its brick sends those stresses and that moisture through the brick instead, and the brick edges and faces start to break down. So the strongest mortar is not the best choice for every chimney. We check the brick first and choose a mortar that suits it, then write the type down.
Dealing with an earlier hard-mortar repair
A chimney repointed years ago with a mortar much harder than its brick can show damage along the new joints: brick edges crumbling while the gray joints stand proud. Preservation Brief 2 explains why, since the stronger material pushes stress into the weaker one.
Removing hard mortar carefully is slow, because cutting it out can damage the soft brick it has already harmed. We assess whether it is causing damage before recommending removal. Where it is, the joints are opened by hand and refilled with a softer mortar suited to the brick. Where the hard joints are sound and the brick beside them is holding up, they can be left alone and watched instead.
Mortar inside the house and attic
The exterior of a chimney gets the attention, but the section inside the house and attic has mortar joints too. There, a failed joint is not only a cosmetic issue, since the chimney wall sits close to the framing.
Where the chimney is visible in the attic or a closet, we check those joints with a light. Sandy or open joints on the interior are repointed with the same care as outside, with the space protected from dust. They are listed separately on the estimate because the access and cleanup are different. Any joint there that looks scorched or blackened is noted for a flue check as well, since it may point to a leak from inside.
What goes on a repointing sketch in Murray Hill
- Raking depth for each face, set by joint width
- Head joints cut by hand, and where a grinder is used
- Joint profile to match, tooled once the mortar has firmed
- Joints that can wait a season, and how to watch them
Before the joints are raked
Do you repoint chimneys in Murray Hill?
Yes. Our masons repoint chimneys across Duval County, Murray Hill included. Mention the sandy sides on the phone, and those faces are surveyed first, at no charge.
Could the cracks simply be caulked?
Caulk or a thin skim over worn mortar has nothing solid to grip and falls away, often hiding deeper failure while it lasts. Raking and refilling the joint is the repair that holds.
More services in Murray Hill
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Learn more about chimney tuckpointingAll services in Murray Hill
Get the joints on your Murray Hill chimney sound again
Joints sandy or caulked over in Murray Hill? The survey costs nothing, and repointing booked in the 72 hours after it is 10% off.
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