Greystones & brick single-family
Lincoln Park, Old Town and Lincoln Square stock from 1880–1920. Soft Type-N mortar, hand-tooled joints, careful around limestone bands.
Service · Walls
Tuckpointing in Chicago — mortar joints that hold.
Tuckpointing is the controlled removal and replacement of failed mortar joints in a brick or stone wall. 312 Masonry tuckpoints greystones, two-flats, condo facades and commercial buildings across Chicago's North Side — matched mortar mix, tooled joint profile, 25–30 year service life. Licensed, bonded, insured. 48-hour on-site estimate.
- Licensed
- Bonded
- Insured
- License TGC-098-734
- Est. 2014
- 48-hour estimates
What is tuckpointing?
Tuckpointing — used interchangeably with repointing in the Chicago trade — is the wall-restoration process where a mason grinds out a band of failed mortar from each joint, then replaces it with a fresh mortar mix matched to the original wall. Done correctly on Chicago brick, it pushes the next maintenance cycle out by 25 to 30 years and keeps water out of the wall.
- The repair targets the mortar joint — never the brick.
- The new mortar must match the old in strength and porosity, or the brick face cracks.
- The joint profile (concave, V, weathered) is finished with a tool — not smeared.
What a 312 Masonry tuckpointing project includes.
Same line items on every scope, from a single-flat in Lincoln Square to a four-story facade in Lakeview.
- Wall walkthrough with the lead mason — the person who'll be on site doing the joints.
- Mortar mix matched to the original — Type-N for soft historic brick, Type-S for commercial/parapet.
- Grinder removal to 2× joint depth — full bond between old mortar and new.
- Tooled joint profile — concave, V or weathered to match the original.
- Brick replacement, priced separately — spalled or broken units toothed in with matched brick.
- Daily cleanup and final wash — sidewalks swept, mortar splatter removed.
- Written close-out — photos, the mortar mix recipe, and a line-item scope you can keep.
Types of tuckpointing we handle in Chicago.
Two-flats, three-flats & row houses
Logan Square, Bucktown and Wicker Park common brick. Partial-wall and full-elevation scopes, ladder or scaffold access.
Condo facades & commercial brick
Swing-stage access, harder Type-S mortar, permit handling, and Chicago Facade Ordinance coordination where required.
Four steps from call to clean wall.
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Call or write
Same-day reply during business hours. Send a photo if you can — it speeds the on-site visit.
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48-hour on-site visit
The crew lead reads the joints, tests mortar hardness and confirms scope, access and permit needs.
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Mortar sample & written scope
A mix sample is matched to the original. You get a line-item scope, price range and start window the same day.
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Build
Grind to depth, repoint to profile, clean and close out. Daily progress photos. One crew start to finish.
How much does tuckpointing cost in Chicago?
Tuckpointing in Chicago runs $8–$22 per square foot for residential brick and greystone, $10–$28 per sq ft for two-flats and row houses with partial-wall scopes, and $20–$45 per sq ft for commercial facades that need swing-stage access. Small spot repairs carry a $1,500–$4,500 minimum.
| Scope | Range |
|---|---|
| Spot repointing (small-area minimum) | $1,500–$4,500 |
| Residential brick or greystone | $8–$22 per sq ft |
| Two-flat / row house (partial wall) | $10–$28 per sq ft |
| Commercial / swing-stage facade | $20–$45 per sq ft |
Range. Final cost confirmed after a 48-hour on-site visit with the crew lead.
What moves the number up or down
- Access — ladder vs. scaffold vs. swing-stage.
- Permit and engineer's letter (commercial, >4 stories or Facade Ordinance scope).
- Mortar type and joint depth.
- Additional brick replacement for spalled or broken units.
- Age of the building — pre-1920 stock needs softer mix and slower work.
What the work looks like.
Where we tuckpoint in Chicago.
Lincoln Park
60614 · Primary service areaGreystones and brick rowhouses. Soft Type-N mortar, hand-tooled joints.
Lakeview
60657Mid-rise condo facades and Wrigleyville two-flats.
Logan Square
60647Worker cottages and three-flats with common-brick walls.
Lincoln Square
60625German-era brick. Restoration-sensitive joint work.
Old Town
60610Pre-Fire and Victorian brick. Landmark-district sensitivity.
Bucktown
60647Worker cottages and converted lofts. Common-brick repointing.
Wicker Park
60622Three-flats and adapted-use commercial brick.
All areas →
North Side · ChicagoCommercial requests reviewed across the wider North Side.
Tuckpointing questions we get every week.
What is the difference between tuckpointing and repointing?
In the Chicago trade today the two terms are used interchangeably and both describe grinding out failed mortar joints and replacing them with a fresh, matched mix. The historic distinction — tuckpointing meaning a contrasting narrow finishing band of putty inside a coloured mortar bed — is rare on a modern Chicago wall, but the working trade name has stayed.
How much does tuckpointing cost per square foot in Chicago?
Residential brick and greystone tuckpointing in Chicago runs $8–$22 per square foot. Two-flats and row houses with partial-wall scope run $10–$28 per sq ft. Commercial facades requiring swing-stage access run $20–$45 per sq ft. Spot repointing has a $1,500–$4,500 minimum for small areas.
How long does tuckpointing last?
Properly executed tuckpointing on a Chicago brick wall lasts 25 to 30 years, provided the new mortar matches the original in compressive strength and porosity, the joint is ground to twice its depth and tooled to the correct profile, and the wall's water management (parapet, coping, flashing) is addressed at the same time.
Do you need a permit for tuckpointing in Chicago?
Most residential tuckpointing on a single-family or two-flat in Chicago does not require a permit. Commercial buildings over four stories and any work falling under the Chicago Facade Ordinance critical-exam scope do require permits and a registered structural engineer's letter. 312 Masonry handles the city paperwork on jobs that need it.
Can tuckpointing be done in winter in Chicago?
Cold-weather tuckpointing is possible above 40°F with heated mortar and protected curing, but Chicago winters routinely drop below that. We schedule most tuckpointing March–November, hold emergency repairs through winter on heated enclosures, and use the off-season for written scopes and material ordering.
What's the difference between Type-N and Type-S mortar?
Type-N is a softer 750-psi lime-rich mortar used for soft historic brick — most pre-1920 Chicago greystones and common brick — because it flexes with the wall and protects the brick face. Type-S is a stronger 1,800-psi mortar used on commercial brick, parapets and load-bearing walls where the brick is hard enough to take it.
Often tuckpointed alongside.
Walls
Brick repair
Spalled or broken brick replaced and toothed into a matched bond — usually scoped with tuckpointing.
RestorationMasonry restoration
Historic greystone, limestone bands and stone window sills brought back without losing original detail.
CommercialCommercial & facade
Chicago Facade Ordinance scope, parapet rebuilds and lintel replacement — engineer-coordinated.
Free estimate
Get a tuckpointing scope within 48 hours.
One call, one on-site visit, one written scope with photos and the mortar mix recipe.