# tuck pointing question



## bubblegummom (Aug 7, 2010)

One side of our house needs tuck pointing and we need to choose a mason. Do most masons use a squeeze tube-type apparatus to put the mortar into the joints these days instead of an old fashioned trowel? Does it work as well?

Thank you!

Loretta


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## Nestor_Kelebay (Aug 7, 2010)

Most masonary contractors would probably use a "pointing trowel" to do this kind of work.  Pointing trowels come in widths from 5/16 inch to 1/2 inch (for concrete blocks) with the most common size for brickwork mortar joints being 3/8 inch.







Grout bags...(shown here), are typically used for applying the mortar or grout between irregular rocks (on fire places and such) or where the mortar joint is wider than 1/2 inch.






However, your masonary contractor will use whatever tool that he finds works best for him, and it's best to let him decide how to actually go about actually doing the work.  As long as the mortar joints are repacked with new mortar, that's what matters.  How that happens really doesn't matter as both a grout bag and a tuck pointing trowel are suitable for filling those joints with fresh mortar.


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## bubblegummom (Aug 9, 2010)

Nestor_Kelebay:

Thank you! Very helpful! I think I have figured out which mason I want to hire.


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## Marksextra (Aug 13, 2010)

Nestor_Kelebay said:


> Most masonary contractors would probably use a "pointing trowel" to do this kind of work.  Pointing trowels come in widths from 5/16 inch to 1/2 inch (for concrete blocks) with the most common size for brickwork mortar joints being 3/8 inch.
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Good answer.  Even a striker would work!


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## Nestor_Kelebay (Aug 13, 2010)

I'm sorry, I don't know what a "striker" is.






Is this what you're calling a "striker"?

In Winnipeg, where I live, most people call this tool a "jointer".  (But, lots of people call it a "spoon", too.)  I guess it doesn't matter what you call it, as long as the other person knows what you mean.

I wouldn't use a jointer to pack the mortar in.  You use a jointer to compact the surface of the mortar to make it more water resistant.  If you put the mortar in with a jointer, how are you going to then compact the surface of the mortar to make it more water resistant?


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