Fixing Broken Mortar Joints
A masonry fireplace is a common and lovely addition to any house, but it serves a more practical purpose as well. Some homeowners are unaware that the chimney’s exterior masonry work will eventually need repair. The mortar joints might be damaged by severe weather. The chimney may start to lean or perhaps collapse if the mortar joints are broken. In the end, moisture in the chimney results in a wide range of issues, both inside and outside the house, that can be expensive to fix and make a chimney unsafe to use while those repairs are being undertaken. Tuckpointing is a type of remedy that can frequently arrest the destructive process.
Checking for loose mortar joints is especially crucial if your property has brick on the inside or outside. Anything composed of brick, including walls, chimneys, and home exteriors, is susceptible to loose mortar joints. Your brick construction could sustain significant damage and incur high repair expenditures if inclement weather is permitted to come into touch with the decaying mortar joints. In addition to making your brick more resistant to the elements, fixing your mortar joints will also enhance the overall appearance. Fortunately, homeowners can generally handle mortar joint repairs on their own. The supplies needed to repair mortar joints are also reasonably priced.
The replacement of deteriorated mortar joints between masonry materials is known as tuckpointing. When you think about it, it seems logical that mortar isn’t nearly as durable as bricks, which can last for a hundred years in a chimney. Depending on the climate and the amount of moisture the chimney is exposed to due to its location on the rooftop, mortar can survive for roughly 25 years. It is recommended to add accessories that direct water away from a chimney if there is a lot of water on the roof. Whatever the circumstances, masonry chimneys eventually require new mortar, which is accomplished through tuckpointing.
When the damaged mortar is not replaced, the chimney starts to deteriorate. Using tuckpointing, rusting is stopped. The following are additional advantages of conducting required chimney tuckpointing:
– Tuckpointing gives your chimney structural stability. In the absence of mortar joint repairs, the chimney becomes brittle and starts to lean or possibly collapse.
– Tuckpointing waterproofs your chimney since deteriorated mortar joints let water seep into your home’s chimney system and eventually inside. Even though you can’t see it, too much water in the chimney damages wood by encouraging the growth of wood roots, mold, and mildew, among other things.
– This process is significantly less expensive than tearing down and rebuilding the entire fireplace. You can save money by tuckpointing rather than having to entirely replace the chimney construction.
– Your chimney’s masonry components are returned to their pre-accident state.
The finest preventive maintenance you can perform on your chimney is hiring a specialist to clean it. No matter how frequently or infrequently you use it, a yearly Local Chimney Cleaning Kirkwood will maintain it in great shape for years to come. Chimney sweeping has a lot of advantages. Cleaning and sweeping are helpful for the chimney’s functionality and your safety, in addition to inspections.