Serving West Des Moines, IA and surrounding areas. (515) 706-9183
Failing mortar lets water into your walls every winter. We cut out the old material, pack in fresh mortar, and match the color so your brickwork is protected and looks right.
Tuckpointing in West Des Moines means cutting out crumbling mortar joints and packing in fresh mortar to seal the gaps, most jobs on a single chimney or wall section take one to two days, while a full-home repoint can run a week or more depending on how much surface area needs attention.
Mortar is softer than brick by design - it absorbs movement and stress so the bricks themselves stay intact. But after enough winters in West Des Moines, it wears down, cracks, and pulls away from the brick face. Once that happens, water gets in and every freeze-thaw cycle makes the gap a little wider. Tuckpointing stops that cycle before it becomes a costly structural problem.
If your chimney or brick walls are also showing surface damage beyond the joints, our brick repair service can address cracked or spalling bricks at the same visit.
Press firmly on a mortar joint with your thumb. If it crumbles, flakes, or feels soft and sandy, the mortar has broken down and is no longer keeping water out. In West Des Moines this is especially common on north-facing walls that hold moisture through the long winters. This is the clearest sign tuckpointing is overdue.
Stand back and look at the mortar lines between your bricks. If you can see dark gaps, cracks running along the joints, or sections where mortar has pulled away from the brick face, water is already getting in. Iowa's freeze-thaw cycle will widen those gaps every winter until they are addressed.
A chalky white residue called efflorescence forms when water moves through masonry and leaves mineral salts on the surface. It is a reliable sign that water is traveling through your mortar joints. In West Des Moines this often appears in spring after snowmelt has been working through the wall all winter.
Water stains, peeling paint, or a musty smell on an interior wall that backs up to exterior brick often trace back to failing mortar joints. Water is finding a path through from outside. This is especially worth investigating in older West Des Moines homes where the original mortar may be 50 or more years old.
We handle tuckpointing on chimneys, brick walls, garden walls, and full exterior repoints on single- and two-story homes. Every job starts with removing the old mortar to the correct depth - about three-quarters of an inch - so the fresh mortar has a solid surface to bond to. We hand-pack each joint, tool it to match the original profile, and take the time to match your existing mortar color before we start. Our most requested work is brick pointing on chimneys and the exterior walls of mid-century ranch homes throughout West Des Moines.
When damaged bricks are part of the picture, we handle both the mortar and the masonry in one visit. And if your project calls for more than joint repair, we also offer brick repair for cracked or spalling units that need to be replaced entirely.
Best for homeowners who notice crumbling or missing mortar on the chimney before the next heating season.
Best for mid-century brick homes where the original mortar is showing its age across large sections of the exterior.
Best for homeowners who caught the damage early and only need a few joints or a single course addressed.
Best for outdoor masonry features where joint failure is visible or where water is pooling behind the wall.
West Des Moines averages more than 100 freeze-thaw cycles per year. Every time water trapped in a cracked joint freezes, it expands and pushes the mortar a little further apart. That cycle repeats all fall, winter, and early spring - and it means mortar breaks down faster here than in warmer climates. Many of the brick ranch homes and two-stories built in the older sections near Valley Junction between the 1940s and 1970s have never been repointed. If your home falls in that age range, the mortar joints are worth inspecting, especially after a hard winter. Customers in Windsor Heights and Des Moines with similar housing stock call us with the same problems every spring.
The spring window from late April through early June is ideal for tuckpointing here - temperatures are reliably above 40 degrees Fahrenheit, mortar cures properly, and you are getting the work done before summer heat accelerates drying too fast. That same window is when every other homeowner is calling, so booking in late winter gives you better availability and more scheduling flexibility. If your neighborhood has an active HOA, particularly in the Jordan Creek area, we always check applicable exterior guidelines before starting so there are no surprises after the fact. The Brick Industry Association recommends inspecting mortar joints every few years in freeze-thaw climates - a standard we follow on every project.
Call or submit a form and we will ask a few basic questions about your home's age and what you have noticed. We aim to respond within one business day and will schedule a time to come out and look at the work in person.
We walk the perimeter and inspect the mortar joints up close - sometimes with a ladder for chimneys or upper sections. You get a written estimate explaining what we found and what it will cost before any work is scheduled.
The crew grinds or chisels out the old mortar to the correct depth, packs in fresh mortar by hand, and tools each joint to match the original profile. We select or mix mortar to match your existing joint color before a single joint is touched.
Before leaving we clean up all debris and walk you through the completed work. Fresh mortar needs 24 to 48 hours before it can get wet, and we will let you know if there is anything to avoid - like sprinklers or pressure washers - during the curing window.
Get a written estimate within one business day. No pressure, no surprise charges.
(515) 706-9183We select or mix mortar to match your existing joints before a single line is touched. A repair that blends in is the whole point - and it is something we treat as a standard step, not an upgrade.
Some contractors smear new mortar over old without removing the damaged material first. That fails within a few years. We cut to the correct depth on every joint so the fresh mortar has a solid bond and lasts the way it should.
West Des Moines has active HOA communities, particularly near Jordan Creek, and some have exterior guidelines around mortar color and finish. We check what applies to your property before we schedule so there are no compliance surprises after the work is done.
We know Iowa winters. The Brick Industry Association recommends regular joint inspection in freeze-thaw climates, and our estimates account for how far damage has likely spread beyond what is visible - so you are not back in a year with the same problem.
Tuckpointing done right should last 20 to 30 years in a climate like West Des Moines. We stand behind that standard on every project - and we will tell you plainly what we found, what we fixed, and why, before we leave the site.
When individual bricks are cracked, spalling, or shifting, we replace them and blend the repair to match your existing wall.
Learn MorePrecision joint finishing on brick surfaces where a clean, matched profile matters for both performance and appearance.
Learn MoreMortar damage only gets worse through freeze-thaw cycles - call today and we will get you a written estimate within one business day.
