Older brick and stone walls were built to breathe, and lime mortar lets them carry on doing that. We take out hard cement pointing with care and repoint in natural hydraulic lime or lime putty to suit the wall.
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Houses built in the Victorian and Edwardian years, and before, were laid in lime mortar with bricks fired softer than modern ones. Those walls soak up rain and let it dry out again through the joints. Lime pointing keeps that cycle going, because the mortar stays softer and more open than the brick around it.
Trouble starts when a period house has been repointed in strong cement. Hard joints hold water behind them, so moisture escapes through the brick faces instead, and in frost those faces flake and blow. Where that has already happened, our brickwork repairs service cuts out the worst bricks before the wall is repointed in lime.
Lime mortar repointing is slower work than a cement repoint, and it belongs on walls where the brick or stone needs that care. For later houses built with hard modern bricks, our standard brick repointing service is usually the better fit. Once we have seen the wall we will tell you which one applies.
Plenty of people look for someone to help with repointing brick on an old house without realising that the choice of mortar matters as much as the workmanship. Our pointing guide covers that difference in more depth, and you can find your town on the areas we cover page.
Careful removal first, then lime laid in thin layers and looked after while it cures.
Cement joints on soft brick come out slowly, mostly by hand, so the brick edges are not chipped away.
Lime goes on in thin lifts and is protected while it cures, which is the part that makes it last.
Guide prices for a standard house. Pick the house and the walls, then send it to us on WhatsApp.
Prices are for a standard house with normal access. Detached houses, chimney stacks and very high walls are priced from photos. Lime pointing is 25% more than cement.
| House and walls | Cement mortar | Lime mortar |
|---|---|---|
| Terraced house, front | £1,850 | £2,312.50 |
| Terraced house, rear | £1,850 | £2,312.50 |
| Terraced house, front and rear | £3,700 | £4,625 |
| Semi-detached house, front | £2,450 | £3,062.50 |
| Semi-detached house, rear | £2,450 | £3,062.50 |
| Semi-detached house, front and rear | £4,900 | £6,125 |
From photos or a visit we check the brick, any stone and what mortar is in the joints now.
Hard cement and loose lime are taken out by hand wherever the brick edges are soft.
The chosen lime mortar is packed into dampened joints in thin lifts and finished to match.
New work is covered and kept damp until the lime has firmed up enough to look after itself.
Soft brick, lime joints and old stone behave differently from modern walls, and we work with that.
Natural hydraulic lime and lime putty let moisture leave through the joints instead of the brick.
We take hard pointing out slowly so the brick arrises survive the job.
Lime pointing suits rubble and dressed stone just as much as old brick.
Our 18 years in the trade include a great many older houses with soft brick.
If your wall is perfectly happy in cement, we say so rather than selling you lime.
Natural hydraulic lime, sold as NHL, sets partly by reacting with water and partly by taking in carbon dioxide from the air. It comes in several strengths, and the gentler grades suit soft brick and weathered stone where the joint must stay more porous than the wall. Non-hydraulic lime putty sets only by carbonating, so it hardens very slowly and is kept for sheltered walls and the most delicate brick.
Getting cement out of a soft brick wall is the riskiest stage of the job. Running a grinder straight down the joint can catch the arrises, the brick edges, and leave joints looking wide and ragged. We use a plugging chisel and hand tools close to the brick and keep any disc work to joints that are wide enough and bricks that are hard enough to take it.
Lime does not like extremes. It goes on in thinner layers than cement, pressed well into joints that have been dampened, and then kept out of strong sun, wind, rain and frost while it cures. Hessian sheets kept slightly damp do most of that work. In practice lime pointing is best planned for the milder months, and a winter job may need to wait for a settled spell.
Town pages for our pointing work, including the older houses in each area.
Failing joints raked out and refilled in mortar matched to your brick.
Find out moreCracked or sagging window and door heads propped, replaced and rebuilt.
Find out moreSpalled, cracked and loose bricks cut out and replaced to match.
Find out moreGarden walls, boundary walls, piers and small brickwork builds.
Find out moreAs a rough guide, most houses from the Victorian and Edwardian years or earlier were. Original lime joints tend to be soft, pale and sandy, and often scratch away with a key. If an old house has hard grey joints, it has probably been repointed in cement at some point.
It can be. On soft brick, strong cement stops the wall drying out through its joints, so the water leaves through the brick faces instead. Over a few winters that often shows up as flaking or crumbling bricks along the joint lines.
NHL is a hydraulic lime that sets with water as well as air, so it is firmer and more forgiving in exposed spots. Lime putty sets only in air, stays softer and suits sheltered walls and very soft brick. We choose between them once we have seen the wall.
Yes. Removing cement carefully, laying lime in thin lifts and protecting it while it cures all add time. That extra care is what lets the pointing work with the wall rather than against it. It is priced 25% above cement repointing: a standard terraced front or rear is from £2,312.50, and a semi-detached front or rear is from £3,062.50.
Yes. Stone cottages, stone fronts and old boundary walls are pointed in lime in much the same way, with the sand and finish chosen to suit the stone. A close-up photo of the joints helps us judge what the wall needs.
Lime needs frost-free weather to cure properly, so most lime work is done between spring and autumn. Smaller jobs can sometimes go ahead in a mild spell if the new joints are well covered.
WhatsApp us photos of your period brick or stone, including a close-up of the joints. Quotes cost nothing.
