Tried Tuck Pointing vs Grinding Out Joints on an old chimney in Portland last week

I always just ground out old mortar on repoints but tried tuck pointing on this 1920s chimney. Night and day difference for the look, the lines came out so clean and straight. Took about 2 extra hours per side but the homeowner was thrilled. Has anyone else made the switch and stuck with it?

2 comments

2 Comments

tessa_roberts122d ago

Two extra hours per side? That's insane. I would've figured it'd take like half that, max.

hunt.rowan22d ago

See I gotta push back on that a little bit. I used to think the same way until I actually timed myself doing it right. You ever try to get a perfect straight line on a window frame without tape? It takes forever because you're going slow and careful the whole time. Plus you're probably doing what I did at first and only counting the painting part, not the setup where you're mixing, loading your brush right, and getting your stance comfortable. And if you're working with a gloss or semi-gloss paint, that stuff shows every single mistake so you end up going back over spots that looked fine from one angle but not another. Two hours per side sounds about right when you factor in having to stop and straighten your back every twenty minutes too.