Repointing a 3 bed semi.

Beartricks

We’ve moved in to our new 3 bed semi detached house recently and had a quote to repoint the whole house in red mastic.

The quote includes scaffolding, grinding out and repointing all the exterior walls (all Accrington brick), repointing three chimneys and repairing/replacing any damaged flashing, replacing and relocating a number of unsuitable air bricks and replacing any damaged bricks.

We found the company online, they’ve done a number of houses in the local area and they’re the highest quality we’ve seen. They also have a big social media presence so they can’t really get away from any bad feedback. They provide a 20 year guarantee. There’s a few houses on our street that have had bad experience with other companies and look a bit scruffy.

It comes to about £2500 per wall (front, back, side), and £800 per chimney.

I think this is fairly high, but we have significant damp which the survey said was caused by pointing and blown brick. I’m also willing to pay a little bit more for a good company to do the work as we’re in an area that can see some high winds and driving rain.

Does this sound reasonable or is it way above what we should be expecting?

FreeBear

Depends on what exactly this red "mastic" is.

I'm all for using the same materials as the house was built with. So on an old property that was constructed with lime mortar, repointing should be done with a similar mix, and never cement. Modern builds with cavity walls using modern cement mortars, slap a bit of cement in.

stuart45

Using red mastic is quite common in the North with Accringtons, as they usually have really tight joints and people often have trouble using sand/binder mortars. They can be done with careful removal of the old joints and using a really fine sand/ lime mix.
It's no use using sand that's been through a 4mm sieve for joints that can be 2 or 3 mm in places.

Beartricks

stuart45 said:

Using red mastic is quite common in the North with Accringtons, as they usually have really tight joints and people often have trouble using sand/binder mortars. They can be done with careful removal of the old joints and using a really fine sand/ lime mix.
It's no use using sand that's been through a 4mm sieve for joints that can be 2 or 3 mm in places.

This is it. I think the justification is that the water runs right off the smooth bricks in to the joints and a sand mix is likely to blow sooner. Especially in areas with wind driven rain.

Mastic has a linseed oil or resin added. 

stuart45

It's a bit easier to use a red mastic on that type of brick with tight joints. An angle grinder can be used and although this can widen the joints a bit, it doesn't show as the joints will be a similar colour to the brickwork.
If using a sand/lime mix which will dry out white, greater care is needed when raking out the joints, and also to keep the facework clean. The mortar also goes hard really quickly on small joints.
However when done properly a white lime joint can look really good with red bricks and tight joints.