A homeowner gets three tuckpointing estimates for the same wall: say $2,500, $4,500, and $6,000. The natural reaction is to assume the two higher bids are padded and go with the cheapest one.
A gap that big is rarely about markup. It's almost always about scope: what each contractor is actually going to do to your wall. The cheapest bid is usually cheap because it leaves out the slowest parts of the job. These are the three we see skipped most often.
1. How Deep They Grind
Putting new mortar in is the quick part of tuckpointing. Most of the time goes into getting the old mortar out. We grind the joints out with diamond blades to a depth of 5/8 inch, or back to a solid bed of mortar, so the new mortar has something sound to bond to.
A low bid often skips most of that. The crew grinds an eighth of an inch or less, or doesn't grind at all, and spreads new mortar over the old cracks.
That thin layer has nothing to hold onto. After a winter or two it starts flaking off, and you end up paying to have the wall done again.
2. What Mortar They Use
A 100-year-old Chicago bungalow and a block building put up in 2015 need different mortar. Old Chicago common brick is fairly soft. It needs a softer mortar with more lime in it, so the wall can move a little and dry out. The new mortar also has to be tinted to match the color your old mortar has weathered to.
A cheap job often uses a premixed bag of hard Portland cement mortar from a hardware store.
That mortar is harder than the old brick around it. When the wall moves or freezes, the brick gives instead of the mortar, and the faces of the bricks can crack off. A mortar joint is easy to redo; a damaged brick has to be cut out and replaced. Bagged mortar also tends to dry a bright gray that stands out against the rest of the wall.
3. Whether They're Insured
Masonry work means scaffolding in narrow gangways and crews working three stories up on parapets. Legitimate contractors pay for general liability and workers' compensation insurance to cover their crew and your property.
Some low bids are low partly because the contractor doesn't carry that insurance.
If an uninsured worker falls off a scaffold on your property, or a dropped brick damages your neighbor's roof, the bill can land on your homeowner's insurance, or on you.
What to Look for on Each Estimate
Put the estimates side by side and read past the total. A good estimate spells out each part of the job:
- Prep: the grinding depth in writing (5/8 inch, or back to a solid bed of mortar), not just "tuckpoint wall."
- Mortar: a mix chosen for your brick and tinted to match, not just "mortar."
- Cleanup: washing the brick after the joints cure, so mortar smears don't stay baked onto the face.
- Paperwork: a detailed written scope, and a certificate of insurance when you ask for one.
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